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Steven Cross
Mining may send house prices skyrocketing in some areas, but in the heart of the NSW Hunter region, a mine shaft a few hundred metres under the feet of potential customers won’t help sales.
That's the view of Matthew Wilson, principal at Professionals Morisset. He has the task of selling houses that are on top of a local longwall coal mine.
In fact, Mr Wilson’s own home is on land designated for excavation in Cessnock, which he is concerned will reduce his property's value.
“When the mine goes under, it’ll take probably another five years for the stigma to then lift, and you’d be able to get a real market price.”
Although he admitted the mine will help support the local economy, he said it won’t offset the damage to property prices. Even the 200 jobs the mine will bring won't drive up prices, he added.
“I don’t think that an influx of 200 to 250 people will change anything really," Mr Wilson said.
"The huge rises in price come from townships of two or three thousand. We’re talking about an area with 20 to 30 thousand people, so there’s plenty of housing available.”
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