Rents have dropped significantly - such as previously $450 now getting $350/wk ... however ... prices have come down also.
The usual gamble - when will the local economy recover? Kurri is a little lost with no major employer now that the aluminium smelter has closed down, with the other two towns you mentioned on the outskirts of Kurri.
Don't see HEZ every coming to real fruition. It's been the holy grail for 10+ years but still floundering ... and ... in hindsight is way out on the wrong side of town for the new highway linkup.
There has really been no growth in the area in the last 10 years ... went thru a bit of a boom early noughties, but it was coming off a very low (sub $100k) base.