The Bellingen Shire Market Report by Nathan Cardow

Welcome to our monthly Real Estate Report for December 2020

Well there you go, 2020 as we know it is pretty well in the books. A Worldwide pandemic, forced business shutdowns, record-breaking fires, a flood, a property boom, I am sure most would agree I do not think any other generation in history would have experienced a year like 2020. I guess sitting here in little Bellingen, once again, it’s almost like we floated through the whole thing virtually unscathed. And as it stands today, had a benefit from the situation, with thriving small businesses and a robust property market. One thing for sure – we are positioned smack bang in the best area of the best country on Earth.

Being a small business in a small town, I know when the lockdown first hit my initial concern was would we even survive. However, less than a week later the government released some support packages aimed directly at saving both businesses and the jobs they provide. I know for us the packages proved to be life-saving and extremely well targeted at getting the money right where it needed to go, and for this, I would like to extend my thanks to the Australian Government, we all got some of the tax we payback! To initiate these policies on the fly without delay in an event they had never experienced before really was quite unbelievable.

We had the very humbling experience of being fortunate enough to navigate through a once in a generation pandemic, and Australia’s deepest economic contraction since the 1930s, without losing a single staff member. I would also like to make a note of thanks to our loyal, reliable and hardworking staff, for they all dug deep and we all worked together to make sure we all got through things as best we possibly could. I guess looking back, I could not be prouder of not only where our office stands, but Bellingen’s residents and business owners as well.

On a more serious note, the residential rental market is still at a virtually zero vacancy rate. So anyone out there who is considering freeing up their air B&B rental accommodation for permanent accommodation now is the time! As with any property cycle, we have seen firsthand the benefit of such a strong market here to previously less sought after areas such as Bowraville and Newee Creek. These areas are fast becoming the next boom locations as the overflow from Bellingen can take advantage of the more affordable opportunities which are only really just down the road. I know our office has recently handled sales down in these locations, and they were extremely successful.

The Bellingen property sales market still seems to be, quite frankly, going nuts. The only other time I have experienced market conditions as strong as they are now was back in the 1999-2000 surge. Anyone thinking of selling property now will be quite surprised at the level of interest from potential buyers all queuing up to buy. Like I have mentioned in my previous articles, if you do not get your promotion right and things handled by a professional negotiator, you really could be missing out on tens of thousands of dollars at the moment. Do not sell yourself short! Get as many potential buyers through your home as possible.

Looking at the news the past few days it appears as though another COVID-19 Spot fire has reared its ugly head in the Northern areas of Sydney. What difficult timing as well. Going off NSW’s previous record for controlling such outbreaks gives us confidence that it should be short-lived and under control. So here’s hoping.

In closing, stay safe & be thankful for where you live. Should there be any real estate queries or assistance you may require, feel free to give one of our friendly helpful staff a call on 02 6655 1049.