NAB research has revealed, based on its figures comparing median monthly rentals with average home loan repayments, residents can save $294 a month by buying in Orange.

It said the median monthly rent was $2044 but mortgage payments were $1750.

However, Century 21 Combined Orange director/sales Andrew Vogler said there was much more involved to buy property

"It may be less according to your weekly costs but it is a lot harder to buy a house than rent," he said.

Mr Vogler said the rental market was still tight in Orange.

He said some people intending to rent had switched to buying. That included people relocating to Orange from Sydney who had intended to rent first to assess the city before committing. "It's difficult out there for people to buy or to rent," he said.

Mr Vogler said he had just sold a house in Lisbon Circuit that had previously been a rental property.

He said the buyers were from Sydney.

McGrath Orange director Josh Fitzgerald said a couple from Canberra recently bought a house in Orange through his agency after working out it was cheaper than renting.

"It's a bit hard to say whether it's a trend or not," he said.

Mr Fitzgerald said record low interest rates were making buying more attractive to people who could afford it.

The shortage of rentals in Orange has been increased by landlords switching to short-term accommodation such as Airbnb.

Mr Fitzgerald said they were still being booked by business executives travelling from Sydney with COVID lockdown approvals.

However, he said less demand due to a lack of tourists was not seeing many owners switching them back to rentals to capitalise on that high demand.

"I haven't seen a flurry of Airbnbs on the market," he said.

Mr Vogler agreed. "I wouldn't say there is a mass exodus from Airbnbs," he said.

Real estate website realestate.com.au said the median rent in Orange was currently $440 a week for houses and $320 for units. On Thursday afternoon there were just 37 properties available for rent.

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