Despite higher interest rates and more challenging weather conditons, the rural property market in the Hilltops and Central West regions experienced robust activity from January to July 2024, driven by significant transactions and sustained demand for large agricultural properties.

Data from rural agent James Brown of Ray White Young indicates properties continued to change hands in the Forbes, Cowra and Hilltops districts with contracts on 26 properties settled in the first six months of the year.

This is a far cry from pre-Covid trends where price records were regularly broken as operators scrambled to expand in a once-in-a-generation window of opportunity.

But the year-to-date activity demonstrated the market continued to provide opportunities. In the Forbes Shire, the average sale price was approximately $2.24 million, with properties averaging around 588 hectares.

Cowra Shire recorded an average sale price of $2.35 million and average land sizes of 151 hectares, while the Hilltops region saw the highest average sale price at $3.09 million, with land sizes averaging around 283 hectares.

Anecdotally, buyers have become more discerning with what they are buying, demanding “turn key” operations – those properties with little need for improvement or development – if the vendor wishes to attract a “premium” price.

A return of market confidence and lower interest rates, however, would inject the property market with a significant boost.

Data for this report was supplied by James Brown, rural sales specialist at Ray White Young