Regional Market Doubles Cities Growth

Regional Australia has been the biggest beneficiary of the booming market, with price rises averaging 13% over the past 12 months. This was double the growth rate in the capital cities, where price gains averaged 6.4%, according to CoreLogic’s Regional Market Update.

SQM Research reports that house prices nationally have risen 12.7% in the past year, but only 5.6% in the combined capital cities, confirming the biggest growth is in the regions.

The CoreLogic report says Richmond-Tweed in NSW (which includes Byron Bay and Lennox Head) took the top spot for capital gains for both houses (22%) and units (15.5%).

CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless says: “This can partly be explained by the ongoing popularity of remote and flexible working arrangements, but also increased demand for lifestyle properties and holiday homes.”

A net 43,000 moved to regional areas from capital cities in 2020, according to ABS figures – the largest net inflow to the regions since the series began in 2001.