In The Spotlight - Camden

In Focus – McGrath Rural and Livestock Newsletter, March

This month, we sat down with Stuart Davies, rural specialist at McGrath Camden, to find out what’s been driving activity in the local market.

The urban sprawl from Sydney’s centre has transformed the fringe rural landscape over the last two decades.

Mid last century, the Nepean River region was home to some of the largest dairy farms in the country. These farms were responsible for producing much of the dairy products consumed across the state.

But when the dairy industry was de-regulated in 2000, a lot of smaller scale farmers around the Nepean River sold off to larger operators or cashed in on the migration out of Parramatta and the Georges River communities.

McGrath Camden Director and Rural Specialist Stuart Davies, who grew up on a dairy farm himself, has seen firsthand the contraction in the outer South-West's agricultural sector, with pastures making way for rural lifestyle addresses and subdivision development.

“The area has changed completely over the last 20-30 years,” said Davies. “Farming has taken a back seat to the residential influx.

“There are still some market farms providing herbs and small vegetable orders to the markets and restaurants but the highest land use for rural owners has become selling for development.”

McGrath Camden has been a leader in rural lifestyle sales in the area, responsible for:

• The Oaks: Four-bedroom home on 14.97ha, 18x13.5m machinery shed - $5.86m;
• 70 Windella Road, Sutton Forest: Four bedroom, three bathroom home on 81.79ha with cattle fattening and horse spelling paddocks - $9.4m(in conjunction with McGrath Upper Hunter’s Michael Burke);
• 700 Cut Hill, Cobbity: Four bedroom home on 87 acres used for thoroughbred agistment - $4.7m.

Back in 2018, Davies also sold 523 acres at 25-67 Cut Hill Road at Cobbity for $36.5m in a record for the area.

The announcement of the second Sydney basin international airport at Badgerys Creek – around a 30 minute drive away from Camden – has become the next catalyst for change in the area.

Around the airport’s footprint, it hasn’t been uncommon for rural landholders to be receiving $3 million an acre for land that has residential or commercial development upside.

With their windfalls, sellers are now heading into Camden and surrounds – the next closest rural lifestyle market – and purchasing premium homesteads.

“With a lot of the changes happening around the airport, we’re the closest rural lifestyle opportunity to the south and off the M7,” he said.

“We’re anticipating a lot of senior executives, who will work at the airport, will recognise the rural lifestyle attributes of Camden and surrounds ahead of the airport’s opening.