In the 2018-2019 financial year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) recorded approximately 46,000 people moving outwards from Sydney to rural areas in NSW.

An abundance of cost effective and practically sized properties in the Branxton, Greta and North Rothbury area are luring in newcomers according to PRD Nationwide Maitland real estate agent Cathy Cattell.

"They want the space... People like to live in the nicer, quieter, more family-friendly areas," she said.

"Rural prices are nowhere near as affected, or have that constant influx or change as the city prices do."

The Hunter region is predicted to grow with the latest Department of Planning population projections showing an additional 131,500 people living in the Hunter region by 2041, an average increase of 14.5 per cent.

Due to the growing demand, a number of estates are being developed including; Huntlee (North Rothbury), Radford Park (Branxton), Stonebark (Greta) and Wyndham Ridge (Greta).

Cattell said the upward trend of sales shows Greta and Branxton building "enormous capital growth", and the older sections of the towns, being popular with locals, are increasing in price.

"The old section has grown more in price like East Branxton, then the new section has, because the locals just seem to prefer it," she said.

"I set the record price in East Branxton at $610,000 [in March], now I've set the record price at $623,000 [in August]; a ten to fifteen year old brick home."

"The estates are proving really popular... Since Wyndham Ridge has been developed, I've had three houses for sale and all three have sold really quickly," she added.

Developed for its proximity at the end of the Hunter Expressway, Greta's Wyndham Ridge is popular due to the land size according to Development Manager from Iris Capital, Jamie Boswell.

"Maitland has been the prominent growth area and it was seen that the next available growth area would be pushing up from Lochinvar, Greta, Branxton and on to Singleton," he said.

"Maitland is essentially built on a floodplain so it's running out of greenfield development sites.

"We should be finished selling all our available stock by the end of this year, so we're actively looking for any sites that are zoned and/or approved ready for construction."

Sales manager for Wyndham Ridge, Sam Budden explained while the work/life balance is a draw card for people, the development of the estates have assisted in economic growth.

"We've really seen some impressive price growth in the land values, and we've also had some fairly significant resale prices," he said.

A sales point for Wyndham Ridge is the complete supply of amenities such as water, sewer, NBN and gas for buyers, with Budden describing it as a "major convenience for residents".

Moving from Denman in 2019 with husband Jack and two daughters Isabelle (2) and Emily (4), Rikki Sant explained how the process of purchasing and building in the estate was simple.

"The process for us was good, we didnt have any issues with buying or building, everything was straight forward," she said.

"We chose Wyndham because it's a good half way point; still close enough to work up the valley and also Newcastle.

"We absolutely love living here... It's a fairly quite neighbourhood."

Many people looking to purchase in these estates are working in the mining sector, with reports from Hunter Business Publication stating the industry provides up to 11,000 direct jobs and 40,000 indirect jobs in the region.

Cattell explained the sector assisted in keeping the real estate market stable during past and current crises due to wages and work opportunities.

"With COVID, [real estate] prices have been really fluctuating, but we haven't had that up here... in actual fact, it's gone the opposite way," she said.

"I've had the biggest boom in sales since COVID started with everybody wanting to migrate out of the cities into the Hunter Valley."

Cessnock City Mayor, Councillor Bob Pynsent said the region has a lot of potential with existing infrastructure such as the expressway, tempting investors.

"The Hunter Expressway [is] attracting those planned suburbs, particularly Huntlee, and the other area in Greta 'Wyndham Ridge' is outstanding," he said.

In addition to the Hunter Expressway, the existing rail infrastructure gives developers hope for incremental and sustained growth in the area, with Budden explaining the importance of supplying for the increasing population.

"Acknowledging that the train services currently are limited, however, as the population grows, it is so simple just to add additional services as the demand increases, rather than to trying to actually run rail to a location," he said.

"You'll find anywhere that has heavy arterial infrastructure like rail and the Hunter Expressway in place already, those locations can sustainably grow to as large as they need."

Budden explained that further additions to the region, including the launch of the Huntlee Shopping Centre on September 16, creates a "significant gravitational pull", providing residents with accessibility to necessary resources.

"We've been huge advocates for that development and the amenities Huntlee will bring," he said.

"[The area] needed a major food retailer like Coles or Woolworths to come to town; so we were just waiting for that," he added.

Possessing equally large block sizes is Branxton's Radford Park, with the clientele being described by Development Manager at Belford Land, Andrew Williams, as "generally second home buyers and people out of Sydney looking for a tree change."

"We also have a lot of people that commute to work in the mines, they live here so they're closer to town and on the weekends, Newcastle."

The estate has "taken off" according to Catell, receiving popularity from locals due to its "fairly priced and sized" land packages.

Jesse Mulligan from Mulligan Property Group is the sales manager for Greta's newest estate, Stonebark.

Image sourced from Mulligan Real Estate website: Stonebark Estate almost completely sold out

Mulligan said "People want to stay in the Hunter Valley as they can still afford a brand new four bedroom house for $450,000; first home buyers and young families."

In regards to the new Huntlee Shopping Centre, Mulligan arguably believes it will bring a few more purchases but it won't bring forward increasing house prices.

"The major shopping centre is certainly a driving point for a lot of families to go out there," he said.

"I see it as an advantage but I don't see it as an area for investments, I don't think it will push prices up."

Cattell explained that a chronic shortage of rentals in the area, the low purchase price of land, along with tax benefits for new buildings, are the major influencers for outsider investors to buy in the estate.

"There aren't many local buyers investing in Huntlee, which is a good thing as we need investors in the area," she said.

"The smaller blocks appeal more to the investors from out of town, Sydney or Central Coast, and they are buying them because they are new and they receive tax deductions."

Councillor Pynsent said the building of the estates and the Huntlee Shopping Centre brings potential for further developments.

"It is exciting," he said.

"They [developers] could see just from the growth, further opportunities and it's just going to be built on from there."