Griffith's land values are going through the roof, according to the latest figures released by the NSW Department of Planning, Industry, and Environment.
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The report shows a 43.4 per cent increase in land values from 2016 and 2019, driven largely by a surge in the price of rural and residential land.
That comes as no surprise to Elders Real Estate principal Frank Fanco, who said the soaring price of land was driven by a serious shortage of housing supply.
"If you've got 50 buyers lined up to buy 40 properties, you're going to see an increase in price," Mr Franco.
"I don't think Griffith has got an affordability problem, what we've got is a supply problem."
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Mr Franco said he'd like to see Griffith City Council work with developers to release a steady supply of land in order to meet the needs of a growing populous.
Mayor John Dal Broi had previously admitted council had been "a little slow" on addressing the problem, but said council had committed to bolstering housing supply as part of the 2019 Griffith Housing Strategy.
"Griffith is growing and expanding, which is good, but you need a supply of land to be there consistently," Mr Franco said.
"Our businesses are growing, and if they are going to attract workers to the region they're going to need a place to live."
The report shows the biggest increases were around the hospital precinct and the adjoining northern resident areas.
There were also "very strong" increases in land values for the outlying villages, with an especially sharp spike in the land values around Lake Wyangan.
The price tag for rural land has also been on the rise, with the market seeing strong returns for livestock, cotton, and horticultural crops despite a dry season.
The report said much of the increase was due to a growing demand for larger-scale irrigation farms used for cotton and rice, reflected in a 41 per cent increase in irrigated farmland values since 2018.
Meanwhile demand for dryland farms has remained more or less steady heading into 2020.
Increases in rural land values were attributed to strong commodity prices despite the long drought conditions.
The report describes Griffith's commercial sector as "active", with land values overall steady with "firm" demand in the central business district.
Industrial land values also saw a modest increase, with a 9 per cent rise throughout 2018 and 2019 business years.
Across the board the total land value for the Riverina increased by 12.2 percent from 2018 to 2019, from $19.5 billion to $21.8 billion.