Cobar’s real estate agents report they are getting a lot of interest from buyers for residential homes and those homes are selling fast!
The Cobar Weekly spoke with Shara Suckling from Elders Real Estate and Brinley Obray from Nutrien Russell about what’s happening in the local housing market.
Shara’s been selling houses in Cobar since she moved to town in 2016 and Brinley has been selling homes for Nutrien Russell since 2021. (Nutrien Russell has been selling properties in Cobar since 1984.)
Shara reports the Elders Real Estate Cobar performance data for 2024 was successful with 28 properties sold, with an average sale value of $321,178.57 and 49 days on the market.
She said they had a list to sell clearance rate of 96.15 per cent.
“As I enter 2025, signs are showing a positive start to the year,” Shara said.
“Due to strong buyer activity, I am seeing that when a property hits the market, there is generally an offer that has been accepted by the vendor within seven to 14 days with an average of 60 days on the market.
“I have a substantial database of prospective buyers and, in some cases, have off-market negotiations being a perfect match for both parties involved.
“Prospective buyers are commenting on how quickly they need to act when a property goes on the market,” Shara said.
“Properties are selling extremely quickly but this also depends on factors such as pricing, quality, etc,” Brinley said.
According to Domain statistics the median sale price for a home in Cobar in 2024 was $220,000, in 2021 it was $194,000, and in 2018 the median price was $195,000.
Both think house prices are on the rise in Cobar.
“While we are seeing record high property prices, I still think we have not reached peak prices yet,” Brinley said.
Shara feels that during the past 12 to 18 months, the market has been catching up.
“For investors or new buyers coming to Cobar, we are an affordable market.
“The level of buyer interest has increased, and we need to be realistic to the cost of building and rebuilding,’ Shara said.
Both report it’s currently very much a “sellers market” for residential real estate in Cobar.
“There is a shortage of available properties for sale to meet the buyer demand,” Shara said.
Both said it’s a combination of current interest rates, government incentives, rising building costs, a boost in the local economy, the prospect of another mine opening, a lack of rental properties (and so people are looking to buy), an emerging trend of families moving to Cobar, a change in mindset since Covid with families moving out into the regions and, banks have changed their attitude to lending more for homes, that make it a “sellers market”.
Shara said she noticed a shift in the market during and following Covid.
“First home buyers have access to government incentives and lower interest rates.
“I would say that during the last 12 months, being that there is a strong buyer demand, with recent sales there has been more than one buyer which has also increased the sale value for a property.
“Banks have been lending, and the properties are meeting valuation, which is also a major key in allowing the market to grow,” Shara said…see this week’s edition for full story.
