Forster Tuncurry 2026 Review

Damien Daczko | AAPI CPV
Senior Residential Valuer

Welcome to the Forster Tuncurry residential property market insights for 2026.

The first 6 months of 2026 saw 290 residential sales comprising 152 dwellings, 130 units and 8 blocks of vacant land.

The Forster–Tuncurry residential property market remains supported by a combination of lifestyle-driven owner occupier demand, retiree migration, sea-change purchasers and falling investor activity.

The twin-town market continues to benefit from its coastal amenity, strong tourism sector, improving regional infrastructure and relative affordability when compared with major coastal centres in New South Wales. Demand is underpinned by both local purchasers and buyers from Sydney, Newcastle and the Central Coast seeking permanent relocation, holiday homes or investment opportunities.

Market conditions during 2026 have generally reflected a balanced to moderately favourable environment for vendors. Buyer enquiry levels remain sound across most price brackets, particularly for well-presented dwellings in established residential locations and properties offering coastal or water views.

While higher interest rates have moderated borrowing capacity compared with the peak market conditions experienced in 2021 and 2022, purchaser demand has remained resilient due to limited housing supply and continued population growth within the region.

Supply levels remain relatively constrained by historical standards, with available stock generally below long-term averages. This has helped support property values despite broader economic headwinds. New housing construction has increased in selected growth areas; however, the rate of new supply has generally been insufficient to materially alter overall market balance. Properties that are appropriately priced and well-presented continue to attract reasonable buyer interest.

Current market indicators suggest typical marketing periods of approximately 50 to 60 days for houses and 40 to 45 days for units, reflecting a market that remains active albeit less competitive than recent peak conditions.

Vendor discounting has generally remained moderate, averaging around 3% to 5%, indicating that most vendors retain reasonable pricing expectations while still allowing scope for negotiation.

Overall, market sentiment across Forster–Tuncurry is considered stable, with values supported by ongoing demand, limited supply and the area's strong lifestyle appeal.

A total of 8 vacant blocks of land were sold in the first half of 2026. This is in line with the 7 sales for the same period in 2025.

• The blocks in 2026 range in size from 330sqm up to 851sqm.

• The 2025 sales were of land ranging from 509sqm to 666sqm.

• Values in 2026 ranged from $299,000 to $645,000 with a median price of $495,000.

• Values in 2025 ranged from $340,000 to $469,000 with a median price of $464,000.

• Median land values increased from approximately $464,000 in 2025 to $495,000 in 2026, representing growth of approximately 6.7% over the period.

This trend needs to be treated with caution coming off a very small data set. It does indicate a shrinking supply of vacant land in the area which is under pinning values in the current market.

Highlighted by its affordability this segment – units, townhouses and apartments – shows 130 sales in the first half of 2026 compared to 133 sales in the first half of 2025.

Demand in this segment continues to come from retirees looking to downsize, investors looking for gross yield returns and holiday makers looking for accommodation that they may one day retire too.

• The lowest sale in 2025 was $165,000 and the highest sale was $1,900,000.

• The lowest sale in 2026 was $320,000 and the highest sale was $3,992,500.

• The median price in 2025 was $600,000 and rose to $651,250 in 2026 indicating an increase in median values of 7.87%.

While individual premium sales influenced upper-end price benchmarks during 2026, underlying demand remained strong across the broader unit market, supported by downsizers, retirees and lifestyle-focused purchasers.

The data represents a broad range of properties from fibro cement clad 1950’s units through to modern penthouse units with sought after coastal views.

As with all valuations, properties should be compared on a like-for-like basis and not adjusted for median price movements.

The median price is a trend indicator and not evidence of market value.

Dwellings in the Forster Tuncurry market accounted for 177 sales in the first half of 2025 and 152 sales in the first half of 2026.

• The lowest sale in 2025 was $470,000 and the highest sale was $1,850,000.

• The lowest sale in 2026 was $500,000 and the highest sale was $2,650,000.

• The median price in 2025 was $860,000 and $920,000 in 2026, indicating an increase of 6.98%.

The Forster-Tuncurry residential market remained resilient during the first half of 2026, with generally stronger conditions than those evident during the first half of 2025. Market activity was underpinned by ongoing lifestyle-driven migration, a limited supply of well-located housing, and continued demand from retirees, investors and metropolitan purchasers seeking coastal property.

While interest rates remained a consideration for buyers, demand continued to broadly outpace supply across much of the market.

Half 1 2025 V Half 1 2026

Key changes between H1 2025 and H1 2026 included:

Moderate price growth across both houses and units, with dwelling values generally recording low to mid single-digit annual increases.

Improved buyer confidence in the first quarter of 2026, particularly following expectations of a more stable interest rate environment during 2026.

While overall transaction numbers moderated compared with the exceptionally active conditions of 2025, pricing growth across all sectors indicates buyer demand continued to exceed available supply.

Tighter supply levels, with stock available for sale remaining relatively constrained, particularly for well-presented homes and quality waterfront or near-beach properties.

Stable to slightly shorter selling periods, with well-priced properties continuing to attract solid enquiry and competitive buyer interest.

The Forster-Tuncurry residential property market displayed improving conditions during the first half of 2026 when compared with the corresponding period in 2025. Market confidence strengthened, supported by ongoing lifestyle migration, limited housing supply and improved buyer sentiment. Transaction levels increased, selling periods remained generally stable to slightly lower and vendor discounting reduced. Residential values recorded moderate growth across most sectors, with the unit market showing particularly strong performance due to affordability advantages and downsizer demand. Overall, market conditions during the first half of 2026 were considered stronger than those prevailing during the first half of 2025.

The Forster-Tuncurry market continues to attract purchasers from Sydney, Newcastle and the Central Coast seeking affordability, lifestyle amenity and retirement options. Ongoing infrastructure improvements, healthcare services, recreational facilities and the region's coastal environment continue to support long-term demand for residential property.

In summary, the Forster-Tuncurry residential market entered the second half of 2026 from a position of strength. Despite lower transaction volumes, limited housing supply, sustained lifestyle demand and continued price growth across all residential sectors indicate a market that remains fundamentally sound and well-supported.

Forster-Tuncurry Residential Market Outlook: Second Half of 2026

The outlook for the Forster-Tuncurry residential market during the second half of 2026 is considered stable to moderately positive, with continued support from lifestyle migration, retiree demand and limited new housing supply. The market is expected to experience stable to modest value growth rather than the rapid increases observed during the post-pandemic period, with buyer demand likely to remain strongest in the affordable and mid-range sectors.

Several factors are expected to influence market performance through the remainder of 2026:

• Continued demand from retirees and sea-change purchasers originating from metropolitan markets.

• A relatively constrained supply of established housing stock.

• Ongoing population growth across the wider Mid North Coast region.

• Opening of the M1 Motorway Heatherbrae bypass

• Threat of interest rate rises reducing borrowing capacity

• Retreat of investors due to Capital Gains Tax and Negative Gearing changes

• Falling Sydney prices flowing through to regional areas

The unit market is expected to outperform the detached housing market, particularly within Forster and Tuncurry town centres. Demand from downsizers remains strong, with many purchasers seeking low-maintenance accommodation close to services, beaches and medical facilities. This should continue to place upward pressure on well-located unit values.

The detached housing market is also expected to remain resilient, although buyers are likely to remain selective and value-conscious. Properties that are modern, renovated or located within close proximity to the coastline, waterways and key amenities are expected to achieve stronger price growth than older dwellings requiring substantial capital expenditure. Vendor expectations have generally aligned more closely with market conditions than in recent years, which should support transaction volumes through the balance of the year.

Risks to the outlook include broader economic uncertainty, any deterioration in employment conditions, renewed inflationary pressures or unexpected increases in interest rates. However, given the area's strong lifestyle appeal and relatively limited housing stock, the likelihood of significant value declines during the second half of 2026 is considered low.

For further property insights regarding Forster Tuncurry or a discussion about how Opteon can support you with our wide range of valuation and advisory services, please feel free to reach out.

Damien Daczo

Senior Residential Valuer
@opteonsolutions.com
0448 666 333

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DISCLAIMER
This article is produced by Opteon Property Group Pty Ltd. It is intended to provide general information in summary form on valuation related topics, current at the time of first publication. The contents do not constitute advice and should not be relied upon as such. Formal advice should be sought in particular matters. Opteon’s valuers are qualified, experienced and certified to provide market value valuations of your property. Opteon does not provide accounting, specialist tax or financial advice.

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*Property market data supplied by RP Data® (Cotality).