There was a single moment of frustration six years ago that caused real estate agent Michael Knight to lose patience with Sydney, pack up his bags and look for greener pastures.
The catalyst was a 7km drive from Sydney’s CBD to Bondi Junction, which on paper should take about 20 minutes but instead took an agonising 75 minutes.
“In that moment I felt a time bomb was ticking and I couldn’t cope with Sydney’s traffic for a minute longer,” he says.
Taking himself to the Southern Highlands, he rented in Mittagong, Wildes Meadow, and the region’s epicentre of Bowral before buying a house in Burradoo, splitting his time and real estate business between city and country.
It was a move that would put him ahead of a steeply rising curve.
The Southern Highlands, once the domain of retirees, is high on the radar for families and baby boomers relocating or buying second homes as an escape from the confines of Sydney.
But the net has been cast far wider than the Highlands’ most well-known hubs of Bowral and Berrima, with million-dollar hot spots such as Bundanoon, Moss Vale, Berrima, Wildes Meadow, Burradoo and Mittagong also on the agenda.
Census figures show Bundanoon’s population increased 19 per cent between 2006 and 2011, with another sizeable jump expected when the 2016 statistics are released.
Similarly, Moss Vale’s population jumped 9 per cent over the same period.
Michael says the area’s popularity is largely underpinned by its affordability compared to that of Sydney real estate followed by its lifestyle.
“People in Sydney are selling for massive prices and can come down here for half the price,” he says.
“They can buy a property that’s even better than their place in Sydney, pay off their mortgage and stick $200,000 in the bank. That’s one of the biggest reasons why people are coming down here; they can have a better life, commute if they have to or work from home.”
Outside of peak hour, the commute to Sydney is about 75 minutes and the resurgence of villages such as Burrawang, Exeter or Bundanoon means they’re no longer overlooked dots on a map but communities with sophisticated amenities, an abundance of land as well as peace and quiet.
Unsurprisingly, the demand has caused an increase in prices. Agents estimate prices over the past five years have doubled, maybe even tripled.
The first open home for a two-level architecturally-designed farmhouse at 81 Ryans Lane, Wildes Meadow, attracted seven groups at the beginning of April.
The property, which includes a 12,000sq m garden surrounded by 32 hectares of bushland, is listed for $1.495 million with three contracts taken out within the first 72 hours, all of them by middle-aged Sydney buyers looking for a lifestyle retreat.
McKillop Property principal Cameron McKillop confirms the market has proven exceptionally strong in the past six months, particularly for prestige property, where spending $2m or $3m on a lifestyle home is “much more palatable”.
Glengarry, a 1930s Southern Highlands grand estate in Burradoo, has been listed by Duncan Hill Property with a price guide of $3.7 million-plus.
Last month, Royalla, the luxury six-bedroom, four-bathroom prestige farm stay estate five minutes’ drive from Robertson and listed for only the second time in 100 years, sold for $2.8m to a Sutherland Shire couple who plan to eventually build a substantial lifestyle property.
“It’s all being driven by Sydney buyers; some are relocating permanently and some are buying a second home for lifestyle reasons,” Cameron says.
The influx of buyers has brought with it an air of sophistication and uplift in amenities, predominantly in Bowral but also further afield.
“In years gone by the focus was always around Bowral, Berrima or Burradoo but now people are spreading their wings and considering Kangaloon, Wildes Meadow and Fitzroy Falls.
“We’ve got some terrific eateries, up-market cafes and restaurants around. Even in Moss Vale, which has always been more of our countrified village, has had a lift. It’s being felt across the board.”
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