It took nearly a century for the state’s total land value to top $1 trillion - and just seven years to double that to reach $2.2 trillion.
NSW residential land values surged an “astonishing” 25 per cent to $1.8 trillion in the 12 months to July last year, according to the NSW Valuer-General’s annual report. Combined with a 23 per cent rise in the industrial land market, a 26 per cent gain across the rural sector and a 15 per cent rise in commercial and retail land values – the total value of all state land rose 24 per cent to $2.
2 trillion in the past financial year.Values rose 3.9 per cent in 2020 and fell 5.3 per cent in 2019. “It took almost 100 years - from 1916 to 2014 - for the value of land in NSW to surpass $1 trillion in total value, but just seven years to go from $1 trillion to $2 trillion,” Valuer-General David Parker told“In the middle of a global pandemic, to have this level of land value growth across the entire state is astonishing,” Dr Parker said.The surge in values, based on analysis of more than 67,000 sales, will push up land tax bills this year. However, there will be some cushioning for property owners as assessments are based on increases averaged out over a three-year period.The annual report – the first covering an entire 12 months of the pandemic – highlighted the boom experienced in regional and coastal housing markets, as people took advantage of the work-from-home phenomenon to embrace lifestyle changes.north coast town that has become the playground of Hollywood celebrities and Rich Listers, and Kiama on the South Coast both recorded rises of more than 50 per cent in residential land values. There was also a whopping 71 per cent rise in the value of rural property in Byron Bay, reflecting the demand for lifestyle estates, country cottages and hobby farms. Closer to Sydney, residential land values on the Hunter coast region, which includes the commutable Cental Coast, Lake Macquarie, Newcastle and Port Stephens, rose 38 per cent – the highest of any region in NSW.“This green change, tree change, sea change and ski change has been exacerbated by greater employer flexibility in work locations as a result of home working during COVID-19,” Dr Parker said.The north coast region, which takes in Mosman, Hunters Hill and the Northern Beaches, recorded residential land growth of 29 per cent over the 12 months to June 30. Values on the south coast, stretching from Bondi in the eastern suburbs to the Sutherland Shire, rose 28 per cent. In the City of Sydney, where most homes are CBD apartments, townhouses and terraces, residential land values rose 18 per cent. Parramatta and the inner west registered gains of 23 per cent. In the western Sydney region, which takes in Blacktown, Liverpool and Penrith, a 16 per cent rise in residential values was dwarfed by gains across industrial , commercial and rural land .Dr Parker said the rising value of western Sydney’s commercial sector was driven by the demand for well-located properties close to major infrastructure projects, such as theHe said the increase in rural values across western Sydney reflected their rezoning potential, because of existing or planned rail and road infrastructure.“For example, in the 1930s if you bought a suit from one of the tailors in the city, you got a free block of land in that area...now they are worth millions.” “The average age of landowners in that area is very high. They bought their blocks decades ago and have been sitting, waiting and watching as the rezonings get closer,” Dr Parker said. writes on real estate, specialising in commercial and residential property. Larry is based in our Melbourne newsroom.