High Speed Rail (HSR) is a significant community issue for the Central Coast, according to Real Estate Institute of NSW Deputy President, Mr Brett Hunter, who is General Manager of Raine and Horne, Terrigal and Avoca, and Raine and Horne Commercial, Erina.
“The new Central Coast Council welcomed news that Infrastructure Australia was focusing attention on the region and how to preserve land for the HSR,” Mr Hunter said.
“The HSR is necessary for the growing population on the Central Coast, and to connect more commuters to jobs in Sydney and Newcastle,” he said.
“The proposed high-speed rail network would have an enormous impact on local real estate markets, according to Mr Hunter, by attracting even more Sydney buyers to the Central Coast.
“There are three-bedroom homes for sale in popular Avoca Beach for under $800,000 despite the spike in Sydney buyer numbers this year.
“However, we’d need to see some holes in the ground before we could predict the longer-term impact on values in Avoca Beach, Terrigal, McMasters Beach and Copacabana,” he said.
Commute times to Sydney are a major issue for Sydney-siders considering a shift to the Central Coast, according to Mr Hunter.
“We could more than halve train commute times with a fast train service between Sydney and Newcastle, which would prove attractive to more Sydneysiders, who are looking for a way to break away from the city’s surging real estate prices,” he said.
“The HSR could transport a typical Central Coast worker door-to-desk in Sydney in around 60 minutes, compared to the current average of two hours using current drive, park and rail commuting solutions.”
Source:
Media release, Jul 20
Brett Hunter, Raine and Horne