Longstanding Byron Bay agent Glen Irwin, of LJ Hooker, says 100 per cent of his clients hail from Sydney.

“Nearly all the inquiries are for rural property around Byron at least 20 minutes away from the township because people want to self isolate,” Irwin says. He sold a property at Newrybar for $2.3m to Sydneysiders.

The property, featuring four bedrooms, is on a 12.6ha parcel of land and includes a swimming pool and fireplace and is located around 20 minutes’ drive from the Byron city centre.

Irwin is marketing a prime property at 604 Lismore Road, Nashua, that features five bedrooms, a cabana and four-car ­garage. There’s a further separate four-bedroom, two-bathroom family home on the estate that is expected to sell for around $2.6m.

 

Over at First National Byron Bay, agent Greg Price says the market is “mad” adding that he fields 150 emails each time he puts a property up for sale, and conducts 60 to 70 inspections.

“So many people are trying to exit the big smoke, COVID-19 has been a catalyst, they all seem to end up in Byron, (preferring it) over Yamba, Forster or Coffs Harbour,” Price says.

“They seem to want to come to the Byron hinterland.”

For example, he had expected around $945,000 for a ­vacant property at 272 Arthur Road, Corndale, inland from the Byron coast, but just sold it for $1.685m at a spirited auction.

Overlooking rolling hinterland, and built from Western red cedar and bluestone, the sprawling four-bedroom, two-bathroom house was designed by renowned Byron Bay-based architect Christine Vadasz, but is in need of a major renovation.

The 34ha parcel has a frontage to Boomerang Creek, two spring-fed dams and town water.

It includes a heated pool and was bought by a couple of Melbourne investors at auction.

Price envisages the property easily needs a couple of hundred thousand dollars spent on renovations including on the exterior deck, which is rotted in parts.

 

Closer to the Pacific Ocean, Byron Bay agent Ed Silk is marketing a sprawling property overlooking the ocean at 139 Bangalow Road, Byron Bay, just behind the golf course.

He is expecting $4m to $4.4m for the four bedder on 5.7ha.

It features panoramic ocean views and is a short walk to a local beach. The Byron Bay township is 6km away.

“People want to escape the cities mainly because of COVID-19,” Silk says. “Covid has proven to people they can run their business remotely or they don’t have to work in the office.

“People are coming to live in Byron and they might commute back to the office once a week or every fortnight.

“People are seeing that remotely working from Byron Bay is now certainly possible.

“There has been an attitudinal shift with employers. Some people are saying productivity has gone up.

“People are saying out in the hills it’s a strong market, but Byron township is also very strong.”

Silk says he is getting Sydney and Melbourne buyers plus a few Queenslanders.

“Certainly there are a lot of people coming from Sydney to Byron and they are also holidaying here because they can’t get into Paris or New York. They are locked into NSW.”

But buyers are not only looking for residential estates in the Byron hinterland.

ResortBrokers say they have been selling a lot of motels and caravan parks in northern NSW.

In the past three weeks, ResortBrokers has sold $7m in separate freehold properties at Yamba and South Ballina.

The Yamba Sun Motel and Ballina Beach Village caravan park changed hands for more than $3m apiece, as accommodation operators target the region for acquisitions. ResortBrokers agents Greg James and Steve Campbell negotiated the deals.