During the 1800s, a lot of people moved into New South Wales, in hopes of being one of those who would strike it lucky and find gold in what is now the most populous state in the whole of Australia. A hundred thousand people moved into New South Wales, making the population rise up some thirty-three percent, or one third of the population before the gold rush. This was a sign, marking the beginning of NSW (as New South Wales is commonly called), transforming it into one the most populous state in all of Australia.
Geography of NSW
New South Wales is a coastal state, and is further divided into four sections. It’s on the easternmost side of Australia, and occupies a humongous amount of space, at eight hundred and ten thousand square km, and the coastline measuring over two thousand kilometers in length and facing the Tasman Sea. To the north of the state lies Queensland, and on the southern end of NSW is another, much smaller state, Victoria. The southern border of the state of NSW is South Australia. The Western Plains occupies a large portion of the state, around two-thirds of the entire land area, and its use is limited during other time periods because of the lack of water.
The four main cities in New South Wales are mainly coastal towns that have grown with the passage of time into some of the most populous cities in the country. Sydney, the capital, along with Newcastle, Gosford, and Wollongong all lay along the coastline in the eastern end of NSW. All in all, the population of the state clocks in at seven million inhabitants.
NSW’s Economy
New South Wales has traditionally had an industrial background. However, that has all changed since the 1970s, when shipbuilding and steel production, back then some of the largest industries in the state, began being replaced by newer types of industries such as banking and finance. Sydney has been at the forefront of all this, and in recent years with the rise of information technology the economy has become more diversified than ever, and agriculture in NSW, though still playing an important role, has lessened its impact on the economy of the state over the years, and is set to decline even more in terms of economic share. Sydney is one of the main areas of the information technology in Australia, with companies having their headquarters in the city.
Still the biggest industry by far, coal mining is still one of the main exports of New South Wales, accounting for over A$ five billion, or around twenty percent of the total volume of exports coming from the state. Another rising industry is tourism, with plenty of people coming in to Sydney for their vacation and business, needing almost ten percent of the total workforce in the city devoted to this industry.
Influence of Sports
Enjoying a healthy background in sports is one of the trademarks that New South Wales has. It’s an essential part of the culture of the people of NSW, and team sports are the most popular in this state. Whether it’s Rugby, Soccer, or Cricket, the people of NSW enjoy a good round or two of these sports, and tournaments between professional teams quickly turn into major events on the calendars of residents, and a lot of fans turn up for every game.
Cricket is the most popular ball game in New South Wales, and the state is home to the most dominant team in domestic cricket, the NSW Blues, which won the first class competition a total of forty-four times. The ANZ stadium is the home of the NSW Blues. Aside from cricket, the state also has three clubs in the A-league for football, out of a total of eight in the country.
Investing in New South Wales
With such a large land area, it’s no wonder New South Wales has one of the biggest real estate markets in Australia, and a lot of millionaires has made their way up to the top by buying and selling properties in the country. If you’re contemplating a purchase of a land area in NSW, there are many factors to consider, and the playing field is considerably different compared to other real estate markets because of the sheer size of the state.
Location would be one of the key considerations you should look for when investing in real estate in NSW. The best properties are those that are within ten km from a capital city, and the reason for that is for prospective buyers, having easy access to facilities like shopping malls and hospitals far outweighs the price premium for a property. Closer locations also mean less travel time to and from work.
For the vacation properties segment in New South Wales, however, it would be better to stick with a listing close to the beach, mainly because a vacation home in the vicinity of the coast would make for a more attractive rental home compared to one that is closer to the Western Plains than the beach. In Sydney, Manly is the prime beach area that commands high price premiums.
If you have an attractively-priced property outside of the ten-kilometer radius, however, check if it’s in a suburban area, which could spell the difference between a good deal or an overpriced property. If it is, you could be in luck, just compare it to similar properties in the area before you make the purchase so that you can have a benchmark in selecting a good price point. Rental homes or whatever property you have, it’s always better to have a housing unit somewhere near malls, hospitals, schools, or some other area that sees high traffic and is an integral part of city life. With these guidelines in mind, searching for properties in New South Wales should be a lot easier, along with segregating between ideal properties for different purposes.