A rush on houses by investors has created a shortage in Armidale and Tamworth, making it hard for local agents to keep up with demand.
Investors see these locations as hotspots, each with good economic prospects and plenty of renters.
The result of this, however, is fewer houses left to sell. Armidale is now down to 92 ‘for sale’ house listings, as per REA Group, though there are a few more homes available in the greater area.
In Tamworth, it’s much the same, with REA Group showing 110 houses for sale as of mid-December. When surrounding areas are included, this only climbs to 177.
To put this into context, consider that the Central Coast currently has 1,200 house listings.
Principal at Laing and Simmons in Armidale, Lachie Sewell, says house listings are down because most investors are ready to buy and can out-bid other buyers.
“Eighty-five per cent of our buyers are investors. There are more buyer’s agents buying sight unseen now than there were during COVID times,” Sewell said. “It’s very rare that we get first home buyers.
“When the 5% deposit scheme came in, it really catapulted the investors out here because they were trying to find the next hotspot for capital growth. So it’s a great time to sell a house.”
The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme expanded in October by removing income caps for eligible applicants and increasing property price caps. This effectively widened the pool of potential buyers.
Under the scheme, first home buyers don’t require the typical 20% first deposit and can instead buy with a minimum 5% deposit, while single parents or legal guardians only need 2%.
However, the scheme has only helped push prices higher in the instances of Armidale and Tamworth, with investors looking to beat new buyers to the best available houses.
The median house price in each town is around the $550,000 mark, as per REA Group data, and yet many of the homes currently listed are asking for $800,000 and even up to $1m.
Larger homes in East Tamworth tend to be priced even higher.
This is a story that’s played out across the country for many years now. Property markets tend to experience price growth off the back of population increases, employment and education opportunities, new infrastructure projects and tourism.
New England benefits from a lot of these positive market traits, including interstate migrants seeking a tree-change as well as refugees from countries such as Iraq and Syria.
The demand for housing in these towns has therefore risen in 2025, and investors have capitalised, securing homes that can provide long-term profits off the back of consistent rent.
Principal at Raine and Horne Tamworth, Bryan Bolitho, says that not much has gone up for sale in the last month and this has seen the market tighten further.
“If I put anything on the internet under $700,000 these days, I’ll be absolutely swamped with investors primarily from Sydney and Brisbane,” Bolitho said.
“I just exchanged a duplex for $955,000 this week, and it took about two days to sell. If I had 10 of them I’d sell them all today and retire tomorrow.”
Three and four-bedroom homes are especially popular according to local selling agents, which is why some buyers might even look beyond Armidale and Tamworth.
For example, competition for houses can extend to Guyra, Uralla, Kootingal and Attunga.
Bolitho says that every time interest rates drop, the market just heats up again. The Reserve Bank cut the official interest rate by 0.25 points in August to 3.6 per cent.
However, if rates go up in 2026 and the market cools as some economists expect, he’d like to see first homebuyers get a chance.
“We exchanged a house today, which was actually to a first homebuyer, which is lovely because we don’t see many of them anymore as they’ve been priced out,” he said. “It was a two-bedroom, one bathroom and one garage in Bligh Street and was $620,000.”
That’s a high price for two bedrooms, but paying a premium is commonplace in most hotspots across New South Wales.
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