HIGH-END home prices are on the rise across Newcastle and Lake Macquarie.
The region's most expensive homes in the upper quartile of the market experienced the fastest pace of growth over the last quarter according to CoreLogic data.
"The past three months has seen a subtle change in the trends, with the upper quartile once again leading the pace of growth with a 1 per cent rise in values compared with a 0.7 per cent in lower quartile values," CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said.
That goes against the national trend where lower priced housing is now showing the strongest growth.
"The results [in Newcastle] are quite different relative to Greater Sydney, where upper quartile dwelling values have recorded a higher cumulative gain through the pandemic and continues to show the weakest quarterly growth outcome over the past three months," he said.
The strengthening of high-end home prices marks a shift in the trend of dwelling value growth in the region.
According to CoreLogic, the lower quartile of the market consistently recorded the fastest rate of growth between July 2021 and May 2023.
"The past four years has generally seen the lower quartile of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie region recording the fastest rate of growth," he said.
"However, it has been the upper quartile where the quarterly pace of gain has hit the highest peaks and lowest troughs, demonstrating a greater level of volatility through the cycles."
Since March 2020, lower quartile home values in the region have recorded an increase of 53.2 per cent compared with a 37.3 per cent rise in upper quartile values and a 44.8 per cent gain across the broad middle of the market.
At the end of February, dwellings in the lower quartile held a value of approximately $705,800, the median was $850,700 and the upper quartile was $1.012 million.
"The results [in Newcastle] are quite different relative to Greater Sydney, where upper quartile dwelling values have recorded a higher cumulative gain through the pandemic and continues to show the weakest quarterly growth outcome over the past three months," he said.
Newcastle's rise of high-end sales
Since the pandemic, 33 properties across Newcastle and Lake Macquarie have sold for $5 million and above.
The biggest result in the region in recent months was the $8.5 million sale of a penthouse apartment in Newcastle.
Presence Real Estate selling agent Natalie Tonks has overseen a string of Newcastle's top multi-million dollar property sales in the past 12 months, including a $8.1 million home in Merewether and a knockdown rebuild at Bar Beach for $7.050 million.
Ms Tonks said the higher end of the market was split evenly between local and out-of-area buyers.
"It all comes down to the fact that people are discovering Newcastle and its lifestyle," Ms Tonks said.
"There are people from Sydney coming here, people from Melbourne and from the country moving into Newcastle.
"It is a desirable spot and it ticks a lot of boxes but with that said, there are also buyers from Newcastle who are upgrading, so it is a real cross-section at the top end of the market."
The rise of the higher end of the housing market in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie over the last quarter contrasts the national home values trend.
In the three months to February, upper quartile home values across Australia recorded a slower quarterly rate of appreciation at 0.6 per cent compared to the broad middle (1.7 per cent) and lower quartiles (2.4 per cent) after outperforming through much of 2023.
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