House prices grew at 5.6 per cent in the year to July 31, according to Australian Property Monitors, while median unit prices grew by 8.2 per cent to be $270,000.

Real Estate Institute of NSW – Orana division acting chairman Bob Berry said the growth showed Dubbo demand was still high in Dubbo and said it indicated the overall economy was healthy.

“The strong performance of the housing market in the latest figures reflect the general strength of the Dubbo economy, and totally refutes any suggestion the city is stagnant, after the recent council amalgamation,” he said.

“A housing market is only as good as the economy and the Dubbo economy is quite active.”

A total of 592 houses and 69 units were sold in the 12 months to July 31, below previous records but Mr Berry said that wasn’t the full story.

“I think the figures reflect what we are seeing generally and that is a bit of easing in the numbers everywhere,” he said. 

“There have been times where more houses have been sold but there have also been a lot of new houses come onto the market.”

Mr Berry said the good news for home owners was their asset was continuing to appreciate at a fast rate and he predicted that improvement in wealth would further assist the city’s economy.

“If you look back the market started to gather momentum in late-2011 and since 2010 the median house price has gone up $100,000,” he said.

“That means on average, houses have gone up by $100,000, some will have gone up by more, some by less but it is a great result for homeowners in Dubbo.”

For those who haven’t bought their first house yet, Mr Berry said Dubbo was still very affordable, especially compared to other regional cities.

“In the last two or three weeks we have seen a lot of media comment on housing affordability and availability, and even seen the Planning Minister come out and say they need to look at terrace housing because it takes less land,” he said.

“We don’t have that kind of pressure in Dubbo and I think the median house and unit prices are still affordable compared to NSW.”

Investments also faired well with rental yield on the median advertised rent for a house at 5.4 per cent.