The New England and North West saw the largest change in sales volumes out of the 25 regions analysed in the report, with house sales up 77 per cent over the year to August 2021.

LJ Hooker Tamworth director Sam Spokes said the trend is being fueled by strong competition between investors and home buyers.

"The metro and coastal markets have gone berserk and mum and dad investors who are looking at buying one or two properties as an investment, now either can't afford to, or can't get the return that they once could on the coast," he said.

"They're now resorting to regional areas to get a good return on their investment."

In the Tamworth local government area, 1651 houses were sold in the 12 months to August 2021, a huge 61 per cent increase on the previous 12 months.

While houses moved at larger volume, the change in the number of unit sales outstripped the home market easily, jumping up 136.2 per cent.

But house prices remained relatively cheap, with the median value on a Tamworth home sitting at $373,358.

"Comparable to metropolitan and coastal towns, we've still got quite cheap homes, people are selling two bedroom units and houses in the Central Coast and Sydney and Newcastle for over $2 million," he said.

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"So their perspective of value when they come to Tamworth means they're happy to pay over a $1 million to get an acre, or to get a beautiful home in town.

"Their price point, where they see value for money is a lot higher than where Tamworth has traditionally been.

"When you've got an investor who can get maybe one per cent in the bank yet they can come and buy a $350,000 home here, you can get $380 to $400 a week rent getting five or six per cent return, that's a really good investment for them."

Partner Now Property Tamworth principal Jacqui Powell agreed there was a trend of Sydney people moving to the Central Coast and Newcastle, which has translated to Tamworth picking up those clients.

"Tamworth's still affordable but our rental returns are still great, the return on investment for rental is very high compared to other areas," she said.

"I think we're very fortunate to have great medical facilities, great schooling facilities and jobs. Bathurst is another area that's growing at a similar speed."

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