The Riverina's property market remains a regional standout thanks to its relative affordability, a sustained period of below-average listings and price growth.
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According to CoreLogic's economist Kaytlin Ezzy the Riverina has seen values remain fairly resilient compared to more expensive regional markets, rising 3.6 per cent over the 12 months to April.
"Although only a small portion of the Riverina's housing market, units led this rise, up 19.8 per cent over the year (the highest of any regional unit market), while houses recorded a milder 2.6 per cent increase," Ms Ezzy said.
"Listings continue to be an important factor supporting values through this period, with many vendors choosing to delay selling decisions."
Ms Ezzy said the number of newly-advertised listings for the Riverina fell 23.8 below the previous five-year average for April, resulting in a total listing shortfall of around 375 listings, or a drop of 31.1 per cent below what we would typically expect to see this time of year.
"Despite the below-average flow of new listings, the stock of total listings has started to recover from the severe undersupply seen through the COVID period, with properties taking longer to sell and vendors offering larger discounts in order to secure a sale," she said.
Khalil and Shamail Soniwala currently have their five bedroom, two-bathroom house for sale on a 981-square-metre block in the Wagga suburb of Tatton.
The luxury property, which has a pool and multiple living and dining spaces, is located in a family-friendly cul-de-sac and is listed for sale with a guide of $1.25 million to $1.35 million.
Dr Soniwala said while there may have been some benefits to having sold at this time last year, the Wagga market still remains strong.
For the past two years the couple rented their property to someone they knew for $850 a week having decided to keep it in case there was an opportunity for them to return to Wagga and the "family-friendly street" they have loved living in.
"This is not a house for long-term rental [use], unless you know them; we had a great tenant who looked after the house very well," he said.
According to Dr Soniwala he and his wife would have happily kept the house for longer however for practical reasons have decided to sell now.
Dr Soniwala said Wagga remains a great place to invest in property thanks in part to its strong education, medical and defense sectors which are all major employers in the region.
"It's a great city we really enjoyed every single day there," he said.
One Agency Wagga's Holly Newbigging is selling the Soniwalas' 12 Cumberland Court property and she said Wagga remains a "steady market" where prices haven't dropped, and she doesn't expect them to.
"It's always a good time to sell in Wagga; it doesn't matter whether it's summer or winter," she said.
"The market has definitely slowed but it's just going back to a normal market.
"There are less buyers per property, however there's less listings on the market so you don't have as many properties to compete with and people still have to buy regardless."
PRD Wagga's Ryan Smith said the lack of stock on the market is definitely helping prices remain steady.
"Because there's just nothing floating around, nothing coming on, people don't have that opportunity to price-shop against other properties," he said.
"So if they want it, they're just going to have to pay for it."
He said the strength of Wagga's economy, and job opportunities in the region, means the area remains a drawcard for people considering moving there.
"To be honest we're still very good value-for-money compared to some of the metro areas and even other regional cities," Mr Smith said.
H& D Real Estate's John Bittar said he thinks there's more stock on the market now than there was 12 months ago with demand for properties remaining strong.
"That [demand] may change with potential interest rate rises but certainly there's still a pretty strong appetite in Wagga for property at any price range," he said.
He said there had been a slight slowing of the market as a result of ongoing interest rate rises "but it's still quite busy".
According to CoreLogic the median price of a house in Tatton is $785,000.
Tracey Prisk
I am a writer on the national property team and I cover real estate news in Orange, Bathust, Dubbo, Wagga and the Blue Mountains. I was previously the editor of the Central Western Daily for six years and before that worked as the CWD's chief of staff. During this time I also wrote feature stories for Country Style magazine. Before joining ACM I was a film writer and reviewer at the Sunday Telegraph. I was previously the editor of the film and television magazine Encore and also wrote for Broadcast Engineering News.
I am a writer on the national property team and I cover real estate news in Orange, Bathust, Dubbo, Wagga and the Blue Mountains. I was previously the editor of the Central Western Daily for six years and before that worked as the CWD's chief of staff. During this time I also wrote feature stories for Country Style magazine. Before joining ACM I was a film writer and reviewer at the Sunday Telegraph. I was previously the editor of the film and television magazine Encore and also wrote for Broadcast Engineering News.
