Recent land valuations highlight demand for land across Tablelands region

With Covid-19 driving an exodus from metropolitan areas across Australia, an increasing number of Australians are swapping the city for country towns.

The Tablelands region has become a sought-after place to live, due to the regions beautiful landscapes, high-value agricultural hotspot, reliable rainfall, available water and fertile soils.

Tablelands Regional Council Mayor Rod Marti said demand for land on the Tablelands is higher than it has ever been and there appears no sign of it slowing down.

"The valuations, conducted by the Department of Resources (DoR), also take into account land type and how it is used," Mr Marti said.

"Like all councils, we use DoR's land valuations in the calculation of rates and will do our best to mitigate the upward impact, however it won't be easy.

'"If we have had a spike in land valuations in just one area, we could capture and manage that particular area, however on this occasion the changes to land valuations have occurred across the entire region."

Mayor Marti said land valuation changes are not consistent within rates categories and that they vary significantly with some increasing and others decreasing.

"This means that whatever we do to soften or mitigate impacts, there will be swings and roundabouts," he said.

"There is certainly no easy fix, but we'll do our best to manage this, acting responsibly and fairly,' said Mayor Marti."

Tablelands landholders have received their updated valuations from the DoR over the past few weeks.