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In light of more buyers seeking affordability outside the CBD, a top network is reporting increasing demand in regional NSW.
R&W managing director Andrew Cocks said that with more and more buyers flocking from Sydney in the search of value the brand is seeing rising interest in the Hunter region and changing buyer profiles.
“Sydney’s high prices are forcing people to look beyond the metropolitan region to acquire real estate. Improved road infrastructures have shrunk travel times, making [regional areas] attractive for investors and owner-occupiers seeking a lifestyle change within reach of Sydney. This is a shift we are seeing in a broad arc radiating from Sydney, to Newcastle and the Central Coast, presenting plenty of growth opportunities for our network,” said Mr Cocks.
According to Mr Cocks, the buyers coming from Sydney are looking for recognisable brand names to provide familiarity in regions they are new to, which is where networks can profit.
“They’re in unfamiliar territory so their first priority is to find a known brand in the local area that they recognise and know they can trust. Many of the really good family operators in these towns are missing out on the opportunity to capture this new business simply because they are an unknown factor,” he said.
R&W have recently acquired Thomas Real Estate, a third generation family real estate business in the Hunter suburb of Branxton, which will be their second Hunter Valley office.
Mr Cocks said these acquisitions were just the beginning of regional expenditure for the brand, they’re hoping to open more offices in the coming years.
“In the next 10 to 15 years real estate is going to become more competitive so having head office support is going to be crucial. For local and out of town clients we have an edge that nobody can replicate; the local knowledge that comes with having lived, worked and farmed the area for five generations,” said Andrew Thomas, whose grandfather founded Thomas Real Estate in 1953.
“We’re the oldest real estate agency in Branxton, now part of the oldest real estate group in Australia.”
