The regional property markets within 90 minutes of the major cities on the East Coast have undergone significant price growth; with the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Geelong and Newcastle topping the list.
Improvements in infrastructure have made commuting easier between these regional hubs and the capital cities, and the new NBN rollout has brought a new level of technology into the regions, which has helped make these areas even more desirable to buyers.
Geelong’s median house price is up by 9.8 per cent in the past 12 months making it the best performing regional city across Australia. Even with the price rise the median price is still $200,000 cheaper than Melbourne’s coming in at $505,000.
When you look a little closer into Geelong’s price growth the more affordable housing is just part of the equation driving demand. Geelong has undergone a mini rebirth since the closure of a lot of the industries and factories in the area.
So, with the population shift into Geelong from Melbourne that includes a slightly wealthier demographic, the local Geelong market starts to change to meet the needs of the newer residents, in terms of better quality eating options and social and cultural opportunities. This helps drive the local economy and, in some instances, can even create higher incomes and lower living costs compared to living in the bigger cities.
It’s a combination of greater housing affordability, escaping the stress of the big city and the traffic etc, combined with the more peaceful cost of living advantages that these regional hubs are offering.
Lake Macquarie in New South Wales took in 5,500 new residents from Sydney and Geelong took 6,900 new residents from Melbourne.
Lake Macquarie, Newcastle and the Lower Hunter regions are enjoying strong demand from Sydneysiders looking for better value for money in housing and lifestyle. As an indicator, the state’s leading builders are building new display homes across the region as more housing estate land is released. For example, new lots in Watagan Park, Cooranbong range from 450 square metres to 904 square metres and prices range from $260,000 to $360,000.
Pre the GFC there was a constant stream of people also heading north from Sydney and Melbourne to South East Queensland, the Gold Coast and Northern New South Wales, and this trend is also returning now thanks to the higher values in Sydney and Melbourne.
