This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
DESPITE the pandemic influencing the housing market, an exodus of Sydney and Melbourne populations to more affordable areas have been occurring for over five years.
The Hotspotting Exodus to Lifestyle – National Top 10 report analysed the top affordable lifestyle locations with the best upside potential.
House prices are astronomical in Sydney and Melbourne, in particular. The median house price sits over $1 million in these cities despite prices falling.
This exodus was occurring long before the pandemic, with prices already high before COVID-19 hit our shores.
“This core population trend has been happening for many years,” Hotspotting director Terry Ryder said.
“The official population data shows that Sydney has been losing population to other parts of Australia for the past 10 years and Melbourne has been losing to internal migration for five to six years.”
“While the COVID19 lockdown period made all this more visible and gave it extra momentum, this trend certainly wasn’t caused by the pandemic.”
Queensland has provided an ideal and more affordable destination for internal migration. Four of the spots on the Top 10 are Queensland towns – Toowoomba, Yeppoon, Townsville and the Southern Moreton Bay Islands.
While not to the extent of QLD, WA and SA have also experienced solid growth in recent years. South Australia’s Mount Gambier, Murray Bridge and Port Lincoln made the list along with WA’s Geraldton and Bunbury. Mitchell Shire was the only Victorian location to crack the top 10.
During the earlier days of the exodus, coastal regions were the most attractive locations – providing a more affordable lifestyle with a view.
The likes of Byron Bay, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Central Coast and the Mornington Peninsula have all undergone significant growth in prices as a result of increased interest in the areas.
With coastal regions becoming less affordable as a result, attention has well and truly been turned to regional centres in a country setting. Buyers have particularly been interested in moving just a couple of hours outside a major city with prices cheaper, while the commute to work is still doable.
The trend reveals that regional property markets have been outperforming the capital cities on price for the last five years, with Ryder suggesting a return to the capital cities for much of this population is unlikely despite the end of the pandemic.
“There’s no statistical evidence that this is happening, and we certainly don’t expect it to happen,” Ryder said.
“Apart from anything else, the notion that families who have decided to sell their homes, uproot their lives and relocate themselves and their kids to another part of Australia, will casually decide to do so again so soon is unrealistic.”
Here’s the 10 lifestyle locations and why they’re so promising now.
Toowoomba
- Infrastructure development in the city is lifting the profile of Toowoomba.
- Region has the second largest economy in Queensland.
- Involvement in 2032 Olympics.
- Large bases for agriculture.
Yeppoon
- Affordable housing – median prices around $500,000.
- Construction project pipeline of $6 billion.
- One of top 5 national locations where people want to move.
Geraldton
- WA’s second largest port, largest city north of Perth.
- Windsurfing capital of Aus.
- Highly affordable homes
- Major mining centre
Mount Gambier
- Affordable housing
- Low vacancies, rising rents
- $120 million renewable energy plant
Bunbury
- Strong population growth
- Affordable housing
- Seaside lifestyle
- Over $1 billion worth in projects
Townsville
- Diverse economy
- Population growth
- $ 6 billion in projects
Mitchell Shire
- Population growth
- Housing affordability
- Low vacancy rates
- Close to Melbourne
Murray Bridge
- Affordable housing, low vacancies
- Close to Adelaide
- Diverse economy
- Largest safari park outside Africa
Southern Moreton Bay Islands
- Relaxed lifestyle
- Cheapest location in Brisbane region
- Close to airport and Brisbane
- Proposed involvement in Olympics with whitewater centre
Port Lincoln
- Affordable property
- Low vacancies
- $6 billion Eyre Iron project
- Increase in sales activity
