THE NORTH COAST — LAND FINANCE
Rural land finance on the North Coast and Northern Rivers.
Finance for beef, dairy, horticultural, and mixed rural properties across the North Coast and Northern Rivers NSW.
North Coast and Northern Rivers land carries premium values relative to other NSW beef country, driven by high rainfall, reliable pasture, and a coastal amenity premium. This combination means lenders who apply generic per-hectare valuations to North Coast country will consistently undervalue it. The productive capacity of the Casino and Kyogle beef country, and the intensive horticultural land around Murwillumbah and Ballina, requires specialist rural assessment.
Dairy finance on the North Coast involves specific complexity: milk supply contracts, herd value, and milk production income all contribute to the credit picture. Lenders who understand dairy can model cash flow correctly. Those who do not tend to apply blunt commercial lending metrics that underserve the operator.
The Northern Rivers has a significant number of small-scale intensive horticultural holdings — macadamia orchards, blueberry farms, avocado blocks — that fall in the gap between mainstream residential lending and full rural finance. Clunes places these using lenders who can value planted improvements and assess crop income.
WHAT IS TYPICAL
- Deal size
- $800k–$12m
- Security
- North Coast beef and dairy land, macadamia orchards, intensive horticultural holdings
- Lender pool
- NAB Agribusiness, Westpac Agribusiness, Bendigo, Merricks Capital