The Northern Territory town of Humpty Doo is known for its mention in country songs, its pub and a statue of a giant boxing crocodile — not necessarily million-dollar property listings.
But real estate agents in the area say expensive properties are becoming more and more common.
A recent example is the sale of a seven-bedroom Humpty Doo property, which was featured on the Netflix series ‘Instant Hotel’, for over $1.5 million.
That is the highest price a home has fetched in the area in recent history.
While it may stand out amongst other properties found in Humpty Doo, south of Darwin, Central Real Estate sales professional Darren Hunt said the sale showed a growing market for “luxury” listings in the region.
“Especially post pandemic … there’s been a massive shift of home owners wanting space, and to have a bit more peace and quiet, so they’ve naturally come out to the rural areas,” he said.
The purchaser of the $1.5 million property is relocating from Victoria, and Mr Hunt said they were far from alone.
“Darwin is the cheapest capital city in the country,” Mr Hunt said.
“If you come from the east coast, or down south, dare I say, it’s cheap”.
He said buyers were generally more “senior” and “stable” in their financial situation, meaning they are less affected by interest rate hikes.
‘Incredible value’ push prices to double
Most properties in Humpty Doo are over 20 years old, have three to five bedrooms, sit on two-hectare blocks, and have a pool and a shed.
And while many are far from being classified as luxury, it hasn’t stopped the suburb’s property prices from growing at one of the fastest rates in the country.
According to PropTrack’s latest data, median house prices in Humpty Doo have doubled in 20 months, from $300,000 to $600,000.
Other suburbs around the country that saw gains were Boat Harbour in New South Wales, which doubled in 16 months, and Proston in Queensland, which also doubled in 20 months.
PropTrack’s director of economic research, Cameron Kusher, said there were a few reasons for the price hikes, but it was mainly due to interest rates falling to their lowest levels during the pandemic which allowed households to borrow more money.
Mr Kusher said a reduction in spending due to lockdowns meant people were more willing to spend on residential properties, driving prices up.
But he added there were other elements at play in Humpty Doo as well.
“Humpty Doo is a bit of an unusual one,” he said.
“It is partly the strength of the Darwin housing market over that time, but also in Humpty Doo we’ve seen a lot of new housing development recently.
“The quality of housing you’re getting now in that market is much better than it used to be, so people are paying a premium relative to what they used to pay.”
The introduction of luxury houses, like the one Mr Hunt recently sold, does skew the data slightly, pulling the average median price up.
“This type of property … are certainly making a significant difference to the data you’re seeing,” Mr Hunt said.
However, more ‘typical’ residential homes are still seeing their values rise.
“Basically, they’re getting uplifted by these types of properties. People are still seeing incredible value in the rural area because it’s affordable for the average person.”
Mr Kusher said property values in Humpty Doo were increasing across the board.
“Yes there’s those large properties out there, but we’re also seeing more and more residential properties as well, and they’re of our better quality and higher price than the residential properties that used to be in that market,” he said.
While sellers may be tentative to sell in an uncertain market, and buyers are tightening the belt on spending, Mr Hunt said there’s never been a better time for rural sellers to put their place on the market.
“Rural has certainly accelerated ahead of the northern suburbs and closer to the city. Out here, we’re seeing some really attractive prices,” he said.
Source : ABCNews