It's a very different picture to a mid-pandemic main street, as business owners shut up shop, others moved sales online and some struggled to stay afloat.

Ray White Tamworth director Malcolm Campbell leases about 80 per cent of the properties on Peel Street, and said he is entirely out of stock as requests flood in from major national companies.

"I would have probably five or six strong national tenants looking for space now in Tamworth, I cannot find them a premises at the moment," he said.

"I don't have a vacant premises on Peel Street, it's either all in the process of going through development applications or leases are being signed off on, so effectively Peel Street is nearly full."

Mr Campbell said in 2021, he leased more properties than he did in 2019 and 2020 combined.

Read also:

He chalks it up to a big regional move on the back of COVID, as employers saw a successful transition to working remotely and a strong property market in Tamworth.

"The last calendar year was on of the biggest in dollar and transactional numbers off the back of the drought," he said.

"Whether it's work or lifestyle choices, a lot of the businesses I have leased to see Tamworth as a great spot.

"They're doing their due diligence, they're looking at development approval numbers for houses, sales population growth and council's Blueprint 100 plan which is giving them confidence to move to Tamworth."

National businesses have Tamworth on their radar, but office spaces are still moving relatively slowly on the market.

Mr Campbell said a lot have adjusted their business models to work out of smaller spaces, in some of the boutique shops previously owned by mum and dad investors.

Historically, he said, commercial spaces on Bourke, Darling and Fitzroy streets have been cheaper than Peel Street, so businesses have set up on the fringe of the CBD.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: