If you’re the owner of industrial land in Port Stephens or commercial land in Maitland, you might be inclined to think 2023 was a very good year. 

For those hoping their residential land in Cessnock was gaining ground, you may be disappointed with the figures over the past 12 months, but if your land is considered industrial then the news isn’t quite so bad. 

This week signals the release of the Valuer General’s Report on NSW land values. 

The 15-page document is an independent and impartial paper, produced annually, detailing land values for use by the state government and councils for taxing and rating. 

Within the report valuers have determined the 1 July 2023 land values for more than 2.6 million properties across NSW. 

Categories of land include residential, commercial, industrial and rural, with declines being blamed on interest rate rises, inflation and increasing construction costs. 

The results for the Hunter region between 1 July 2022 and 1 July 2023 are varied. 

• The total land value for the Hunter Coast region decreased slightly overall by 2.7%, down from $203.5 billion to $198 billion. 
• Residential land values in the region experienced a slight decrease of 3.7% overall with Newcastle joining the trend, while Lake Macquarie and Port Stephens remained steady overall. 
• Commercial land values in the region increased slightly by 3.4% overall, with Port Stephens witnessing a 12.9% increase – cementing its reputation as an affordable area. 
• Industrial land values in the region experienced a 15.6% increase overall, the strongest increases seen in Lake Macquarie (22.5%) and Port Stephens (35.8%).  
• Limited releases of new industrial land in the wider Hunter region over recent years has lead to rising land values as demand outweighs supply. 
• Rural land values in the region experienced a slight decrease of 2.6% overall, as fewer buyers sought properties offering a rural lifestyle. 

Landowners in Cessnock, Dungog, Maitland, Muswellbrook, Singleton and Upper Hunter experienced much the same as their city cousins. 

The total land value for these Upper Hunter LGA’s decreased by 3% between 1 July 2022 and 1 July 2023, down from $54.5 billion to $53 billion. 

Less buyers it seems wanted to make the move inland in the past 12 months, with residential land values across the Upper Hunter dipping by 5.3%.

The worst affected was Cessnock, down a whopping 10.6%, followed by Dungog at 4.7% and Maitland at 4.6%. 

Land valuers say the drop in demand was thanks to owner occupiers and investors looking for affordable locations closer to Sydney.  

But while many may not want to live rural, it seems they’re happy to do business there, with commercial land values across the Upper Hunter experiencing a very strong increase of 31.6% – the strongest seen in Singleton (23.6%) and Maitland (42.2%) – with figures being attributed to relative affordability and expanding residential populations. 

Industrial land values across the region also experienced a strong increase, up 18% in the past 12 months thanks to owner occupiers and investors servicing the mining and agricultural sectors.

This includes Muswellbrook up 19.2% and Cessnock up 33.5%. 

When it comes to a rural lifestyle, demand shows this region is falling out of favour, with Cessnock dropping 9.6% and Singleton down 12.6%. 

The decreased land values are blamed on drier conditions, a more subdued outlook for commodity prices, and less interest in rural farming properties. 

For more property stories:

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• Construction could be key to solving housing crisis

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