REINSW was in Dubbo this week to meet with key representatives and business people as part of the REINSW Roadshow.

As well as discussing "contemporary issues from a legislative, regulatory and technology perspective", Mr McKibbin said they wanted to hear about the challenges facing the Dubbo real estate industry.

"Even before COVID-19, the local property market was growing but the pandemic has accelerated the trend, turning peoples' focus to regional centres like Dubbo. With $109.7 million in new local projects commencing in 2021, according to PRD [Real Estate], all signs point to that growth continuing," the CEO said.

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"The movement in house prices underlines the point.

"According to PRD, the median house price of $361,000 as at the end of 2020 was a substantial 3.1 per cent up over the previous year, and the number of transactions in the area grew a strong 18.2 per cent for the same period."

Mr McKibbin said rental demand was also strong and vacancies were "extremely low" because the housing market is struggling to cope with an influx of people moving to the area.

It's a very different story to what the property market was expected to do 12 months ago.

"It's a very, very unusual market and none of us, if we're honest about it, saw it coming. There were a lot of people back this time last year telling us the market was going to collapse," Mr McKibbin said.

Instead, Mr McKibbin said the pandemic triggered a "very blunt reminder" about how property fit into our world.

"They talk about the three basic human rights: food, water and shelter. We take all that for granted. But I saw the shelves in my supermarket completely bare, that was something I never thought I would ever see in my lifetime," he said.

Mr McKibbin said we had all taken it for granted that we'd have a roof over our head but property prices were tied to outside influences.

Especially in seaside communities, the REINSW CEO said he was seeing a growing trend where people on low incomes were leaving because they were unable to afford the rental prices. He said it was also leading to hospitality and retail businesses struggling to get staff.

In those areas and Dubbo, Mr McKibbin said the solution came down to housing supply, and the current lack of it.

"I don't see for the foreseeable future, that is 2021, that you're going to see a relaxation in demand," he said.

This year the REINSW Roadshow was held in collaboration with youth homelessness organisation Yfoundations. They educated attendees about the Foot in the Door program, which connects real estate professionals with youth and other homelessness services.

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