Property prices in Orange have defied the coronavirus pandemic to rise by about 10 per cent in the past year.
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Values are up by 2.5 per cent in the past three months, bucking the trend of a downturn in property values seen in most capital cities during COVID-19.
Orange's strong real estate showing has come despite job losses, business closures and economic hits flowing from the lockdown.
Latest figures from property analysts CoreLogic, to the end of the financial year on Tuesday, found Orange house prices rose by 10.6 per cent to a median of $401,150 while unit prices dropped by 1.4 per cent to $270,800.
We're selling places for $550,000-$650,000 as fast as we can get them.
- Gary Blowes, real estate agent
The combined value of houses and units in Orange rose by 9.7 per cent to a median price of $386,670.
The combined rise was more substantial than other cities in the Central West with Bathurst's values falling by one per cent to a median price of $384,940.
Orange real estate agents said there was plenty of demand now but fewer properties for sale than the same period other years.
Blowes Real Estate principal Gary Blowes said the market was "incredibly bouyant" right now.
"April and May were horrible but now we're desperate for stock," he said.
He said his advice to people waiting to sell in spring's traditional peak time was "do it now.".
"We're selling places for $550,000-$650,000 as fast as we can get them. There's less for sale for sure."
He said Orange was continuing to be attractive to buyers, particularly with the medical facilities available.
"In 47 years of real estate I've never seen anyone [in Orange] lose money on property if they look after it," he said.
Professionals Orange real estate agent Alistair Miller there was a "lower number of listings than normally at this time of year" across Orange.
"We've sold a high proportion of properties at or very close to the asking price in that bread and butter $300,000-$600,000 range," Mr Miller said.
"I see no evidence of a decline."
Mr Miller said there was increasing interest from Sydney buyers in the region.
"Every agent in town would agree, the tree-change type of people in Sydney, they are looking to move to regional and rural areas as a lifestyle change [after] working from home," he said.
CoreLogic's research found property values in Sydney were down by 0.8 per cent over the last three months.
However, its head of research Tim Lawless said the overall affect of the pandemic on home prices across Australia had been mild. He said government stimulus packages and low interest rates had reduced the number of people urgently needing to sell their property.
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