The hottest property market you’ve never heard of

Ten minutes. That’s the longest you have to drive anywhere you need to be in the small town of Terranora, which is one of the main drawcards that’s seen this little-known locale become the hottest property market in NSW.

Just a skip and hop from Tweed Heads, and home to just fewer than 3000 people at the 2016 Census, Terranora’s median house price surged 66.7 per cent to $1.3 million in 2021, on Domain data. That’s more than double Sydney’s annual growth of 33.1 per cent and the fastest-growing median house price across NSW

Capital city buyers, mainly from Sydney and Melbourne, flocked to the humble Queensland-border town in the past year and pushed up property prices as a result. They were searching out lifestyle, proximity to a range of amenities, and a better bang for their buck.

“Terranora is just 10 minutes from the ocean and 10 minutes to the Tweed Valley and the hinterland – it’s 10 minutes from everywhere,” Base Property’s Katarina Molnar said.

Before the pandemic, the postcode was undervalued, even by locals, who preferred the neighbouring towns of Banora Point, Kingscliff and Tweed Heads, Ms Molnar said.

“Terranora has relatively larger lots compared to Banora Point, and those moving from the big cities appreciate that and have the budget for it.”

The town’s newfound popularity has been in part driven by these out-of-town buyers, becoming another by-product of the work-from-home regional property boom, as more people moved to far-flung locations and took their city incomes with them.

“One night, I sold four properties and sold all four under the hammer, not one of [the buyers] ever stepped inside of the property,” Jason Abbott, of PRDnationwide Coolangatta and Tweed, said.