Property values in Lismore and the Northern Rivers had a solid 2024, as did most capital cities across Australia, especially Perth (up 19%), Adelaide (13%) and Brisbane 11%).Locally, according to CoreLogic (to the end of November 2024), Lismore house values increased by 13% with a median value of $537,799, while Ballina increased 5.2% with a median price of $979,489.Rents increased 8.3% to a median price of $573 per week, while Ballina increased 6.1% to $759 per week.The Lismore figure of 13% is inflated, given the number of house buybacks during the year. Neil Scott from Ray White Lismore said he felt a more realistic market figure was 5-10% growth for 2024."A better indication of the market would be to use a suburb like Goonellabah. That's where 40% of our transactions happen, and that is obviously an unaffected market from a flood perspective."I would think that the prices there are probably 5 to 10% up over the last 12 months. We ended the year with some really good results up there, you know, in the $1.2 million range. We did a couple of deals in the $900,000 to a million as well, which is a little bit back from the heady heights, but you know what, better than they would have been 12 months prior."Neil felt that a 5-10% increase could be achieved in 2025 as well.Andrew Gordon from R Gordon & Son was also optimistic about the Lismore housing market, but with some unknown factors to occur."The market in 2025 will always be a combination of factors. It's almost the stars are aligning type process. Now, what influences change? Maybe a change of government, pressure on the RBA, or perhaps a different policy as far as immigration is concerned. Perhaps a change there will lead to less pressure on housing. Interest rates, of course, once again depending on which way that goes with inflation and those ideals. "I guess the most important factor, at any one time, is supply. Will there be sufficient supply to create competition? You know, in the perfect world, you would have a scenario where you have three developers developing land at one time. They all have a requirement to finalise the subdivision sale. So they start competing with each other. "We've seen it before, and there's no reason why we can't see it again. When you have supply in lots of 10 or 20 at a time, it's not enough to create influence or change that is positive for the market or the purchaser. What we need to see is development on a larger scale at several times, so we see developers competing. "That'd be a wonderful scenario, where we could buy a block of land with $250, 000, that would be fantastic. Of course, that has consequences on the secondhand market. Once you have supply and you have pricing under control or in an affordable fashion, well then you'll see pressure come back onto the existing market. But if you have the luxury, like a lot of people in our generation are seeing, 100% growth in the market when they bought back in the day, and then if you lose 10% of that and it's only relevant, really, at point of sale, then you've lost nothing. You really haven't. Andrew said he would like to see planning approvals help housing supply to get the great Aussie dream back in reach of all buyers."I'd now like to see planning used as a tool to provide housing for those who want it. Every person wants to put a roof over the head of their family. And I think that idea or that dream that was affordable when we were kids, is slowly slipping away from this generation and the next. I'd like to see that restored. And I think Lismore has the collective goodwill to see that happen. Robbie Pruess from Raine & Horne Lismore feels Lismore and the Northern Rivers is still a popular and attractive place to live. "The Northern Rivers continues to be a popular place for lifestyle-driven relocations, with many people leaving larger cities for the more relaxed pace of life in towns like Byron Bay, Lismore, Ballina, and Mullumbimby. This trend is being driven by people seeking a better work-life balance, especially with remote work opportunities still prevalent post-pandemic. Consequently, demand for properties in the local area will still remain strong."Neil Scott thinks 2025 will be a period of continued stability."We've seen the last 12 months of a reasonably stable market with some good results at the end of the year, providing a good little bit of momentum that appears to be rolling into this year. There's a reasonable level of stock coming in the pipeline."There's the highly and long anticipated drop in interest rates that the media are talking up now. When that is going to happen, who can really tell at this point in time. I think we will see some confidence coming into the market from a buyer's perspective once we do see some sort of rate drop. I think one would be a little sigh of relief, and two would show some positivity, in my opinion."There is some confidence in the Lismore housing market from three real estate agents, with a lot of unknowns. We can throw in Trump's global impact on top of interest rates, a federal election, and less impact from housebacks in 2025.