There has been a growing interest in property in Crookwell and surrounds, and COVID-19 has driven a further influx of buyers seeking reprieve from being hemmed in and locked down in cities.

Local real estate agents said they are inundated by enquiry, with a lot of demand coming from Sydney, and the south coast around Wollongong and Nowra.

Rural property real estate agent Paul McIntosh from Ray White Goulburn said that after the initial lockdown in New South Wales buyers came in droves to snap up lifestyle properties between 25 and 250 acres.

He said prices for lifestyle properties valued between $450,000 and $600,000 increased by $50,000 since COVID-19.

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"In the first month of COVID-19 it [real estate] shut down and the enquiry was very minimal," Mr McIntosh said.

"After the first month there was impulse buying - we were selling on-site, and getting offers halfway through inspection, and sometimes they were buying straight off the internet."

He said while this market madness has slowed, the real estate market is still hot.

Real estate agent Robyn Duncombe from Duncombe and Co in Crookwell said people are forward-planning, and it isn't just retirees looking for the change of lifestyle.

COVID-19 has given younger people the chance to opt in to work from home in rural areas, she said.

"One of the big questions we get asked is what our internet service is like... they are keeping the same salary while working remotely. If they need to get back to the city, then it is that magic two and a half hours away," she said.

Ms Duncombe said her sales have more than doubled compared to the same time in 2019.

"People have some serious cabin fever going on. They've had enough of the cities," she said.

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