The Reserve Bank of Australia increased interest rates by another 0.5% yesterday, taking the increases since May to 1.75% which equates to an approximate extra $472 a month of a $500,000 mortgage.

The latest increase in interest rates is forecast to hit the property market again with Sydney already down 2.2% in July.

The Lismore App spoke to three local real estate agents about the Lismore market. In general, prices are stable, however, the time to sell a property is getting back to pre-COVID timeframes.

Sharon Dowling from the Professionals Real Estate said the housing market has slowed down with fewer buyers for the properties but house prices are stable.

"This is compared to prior to the floods, but that was like frenzy buying when the local housing market increased about 30-35% in the last two years."

"I think less buyers has something to do with people needing to reapply for their loans. People may have got pre-loan approvals for a loan but they only last three months, which is in the flood period. So, when they go to get their loans they have to verify their income is the same as what it was when they put their approval in, which may not be the case because a lot of work situations have changed."

"Having said that, we listed a property last Thursday in Lismore Heights, Claire (Professionals agent and daughter) did a couple of appointments for me yesterday and we have an offer on it already."

In contrast, Brett McDonald from Raine & Horne said he has a lot of buyers talking to him in, what he describes, as a dynamic market.

"We've got people downsizing off a few acres coming into town and we've got those expanding looking for acreage," Brett said, "People from the coast are wanting to move to Lismore as well as people leaving Lismore."

"What I would say is that the timeframes have gone back to normal. It always did take two to four months to sell a property so this is not unreasonable. We have just come off the back of two crazy years where houses were selling in a week or sometimes a day. People got used to that but it is not normal."

"In real terms, our values haven't dropped but where it goes in the second half of the year I don't know."

Nathan Gordon from R Gordon and Son said he has definitely seen a change in the market.

"We have seen a boost in supply with an influx of new listings," Nathan explained, "there is a bit of fear in the market driven by the media saying there is going to be a 30% drop in prices but there is some uncertainty and hesitation. Open house attendances and enquiries are down."

"We are seeing more to choose from and less buyers. Eventually, the sellers will have to meet the buyer's expectation, we are not seeing that now but I think we will see it in a short time to come."

When asked about the recent interest rises, Nathan said, "It's not like interest rates are at an all-time high, they are still pretty reasonable."

New homeowners will only be used to record low-interest rates.

We have to go back to 2015/16 to see interest rates of 2% and 2011 when they were 4.5%.

What is happening with flood-affected properties?

If homeowners were lucky enough to have insurance, people are getting a payout from the insurance company, say $250,000, then selling their property for $300,000, making a total of $550,000. This is about where property prices were pre-flood.

If there was no insurance, the prices depend on the damage to the house.

"Every example is different," Nathan said, "Was the house off its stumps or just need sheeting. You cannot generalise about flood-affected properties."

The final word goes to Brett McDonald.

"Lismore is still a fantastic place to live. Yes, we've gone through hell a couple of times but that hasn't changed the fact. I have people wanting to move here from the Hunter Valley, the Central Coast even the Blue Mountains."