A surprise region saw the most first-home buyer activity in NSW at the end of last year, revealing how young buyers are looking even further away from major cities.
New research from prop-tech firm InfoTrack has revealed that central-west city Dubbo was the most popular destination for first home buyers in the last quarter of 2025.
Dubbo has emerged as NSW’s top first home buyer destination. Picture: Jedd Manning/Western Aerial Productions
Western Sydney suburbs largely dominated the list, accounting for six of the top 10 suburbs by sales volume, with Liverpool, Penrith, Blacktown and Westmead completing the top five.
But the surprise leader was Dubbo, 303km northwest of Sydney. It’s rising popularity shows how far first-time buyers are willing to go to find affordability.
The city has a median house price of $630,000, just over a third of Sydney’s $1.617m.
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Top suburbs by First home buyer sales, Q4 2025. Source: InfoTrack Property Market Update.
This four-bedroom home on Dubbo’s Dalbeattie Cres sold for $780,000 in February.
Also on the list was Port Macquarie, the eighth most popular destination for first-home buyers.
The coastal town is located 390km north of Sydney and 570km south of Brisbane.
The median price for a two-bedroom home of $760,000 falls just within the First Home Guarantee’s $800,000 price cap for regional NSW.
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Port Macquarie’s coastal lifestyle is also attracting first time buyers. Picture: iStock
This three-bedroom Port Macquarie home, recently sold for $670,000, is the type of property first home buyers can pick up with a five per cent deposit.
InfoTrack chief operating officer Lee Bailie said the latest data showed that the market around NSW was “adjusting to price pressures”.
“Buyers are broadening both where they buy and what they buy, with houses and land firmly back in focus across NSW,” he said.
This demand for space and land is what led so many first-time buyers to regions like Dubbo, Mr Bailie says.
“Locations like Dubbo offer a combination of more affordable houses and greater availability of vacant land,” he said.
“That mix is becoming increasingly attractive as buyers seek alternatives to higherpriced units in inner-city areas.”
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The market for Sydney units is declining, according to a new report.
Across the board, the report also found that buyers across NSW are turning away from units, which saw a significant decline in sales in the last quarter of 2025.
Recorded unit sales fell by more than 13 per cent from the last quarter, a change which Mr Bailie said highlights a shift in buyer behaviour.
“The drop in unit sales shows buyers are reassessing apartment living,” he said.
“This doesn’t mean demand for units has disappeared.
“But it does show that buyers are becoming more confident investing in houses and are exploring regional markets for affordability.”
Over the same period, houses strengthened their position as the most popular property type, with their share of sales rising from 54.29 per cent in Q3 to 64.48 per cent in Q4.
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