The strength of the Australian agriculture sector has pushed out lifestyle buyers on a sought-after Southern Tablelands property just over 200km from Sydney.

‘Petrichor’ rolls over 160ha of productive basalt soils 13km south-west of Crookwell and attracted widespread interest from diverse buyer groups. Reliably watered by springs, dams and the Wheeo Creek, the property was marketed for offers over $2.5 million and was secured prior to closure of the expression of interest period.

LAWD Senior Director, Col Medway, said properties of this size, and located within an easy drive of metropolitan areas, were typically pursued by city sprawlers seeking reliable lifestyle blocks, or developers looking for subdivision potential.

“Although Petrichor has been run as a cattle operation, very often when these smaller blocks become available, they attract a large volume of buyers from the city lifestyle market, particularly when they are within three hours of Sydney,” Mr Medway said.

“Agriculture, however, is in an extremely strong position given the combination of record high commodity prices, low interest rates and excellent seasonal conditions, placing producers in a position to more aggressively pursue smaller properties to complement their existing businesses.

“This is reflective of the current appetite of local farming businesses to expand and the farmer-to-farmer sales trend that has underscored the incredible escalation of prices and land values we have seen in rural property over the recent period.”

The Southern Tablelands is one of Australia’s earliest settled areas and is well regarded for its prime grazing land, reliable rainfall and temperate climate, along with close proximity to Sydney, Canberra, the Snow Fields and New South Wales South Coast. As an agricultural asset, the location is also close to key livestock marketing facilities.

Since 2019, Petrichor had been held by Nagy and Margaret Sorial, to accompany their Goulbourn district beef enterprise including two cattle studs, McSorial Reds and Supermoon Speckle Park, as well as a commercial operation.

“Petrichor has always performed for us, and paved the way for us to expand, giving us more land and the right conditions to always have reliable grass reserves and an oats crop for feed,” Mr Sorial said.

Mr Sorial said his family named the property Petrichor, meaning the smell of rain, because it mirrored the block’s reliable and productive falls, averaging 855mm annually.

“It’s just a beautiful block of land,” Mr Sorial said.

“At the back of Petrichor you are nine hundred metres above sea level, there is a spectacular view and it always smells of rain.”

The property is divided into 16 established paddocks, to facilitate weekly stock rotations.

“We have always had the block understocked, that has just been our preference as we prefer to really look after our land,” Mr Sorial said.

“We didn’t anticipate we would have any trouble selling Petrichor, as its just such beautiful land, but the process has been very smooth and we were pleasantly surprised to accept an offer before the expressions of interest had closed.”