- PropTrack recorded a monthly growth of 0,32% for all regional dwellings.
- Listings near beach destinations in regional Australia are increasing.
- Strong price growth recorded for areas economically driven by mining and agricultural activity.
Regional Australia is experiencing a mix of price growth movements, however, at an aggregate level, median prices are up, according to Ray White‘s Regional Australia house prices are back to growth report.
For October, PropTrack recorded a monthly growth of 0.32% for all regional dwellings, and an annual growth of 2.06%, raising the median value to $618,000.
Report author Nerida Conisbee said in the case of regional NSW and Victoria, price growth is moving faster than Sydney and Melbourne.
Beach holiday homes experience price decline
However, looking at individual towns, Conisbee noted a trend.
“If the town is near the beach, it is more likely to be seeing price declines; inland regional areas are performing a lot better,” she said.
Conisbee cited a host of reasons as to why beach holiday homes are experiencing a decline in price, such as the rise of interest rates and international travel taking the shine off beach holiday homes.
“I think things may get better over the summer, as that is the time that buyers start to come out,” Conisbee told The Property Tribune.
“It’s a good time to buy a holiday home though.”
Regional price growth – Median price by capital city – houses – October
| Region | Oct – 23 | Month on Month | Year on Year |
| Regional NSW | $722,973 | -0.2% | 10.1% |
| Regional VIC | $586,191 | -0.1% | 9.8% |
| Regional QLD | $618,487 | 0.1% | 8.6% |
| Regional WA | $442,357 | -0.1% | 7.1% |
| Regional SA | $386,716 | 0.3% | 5.7% |
| Regional TAS | $526,137 | 0.3% | 5.3% |
| Regional NT | $494,224 | 0.4% | 3.8% |
| Australia House | $834,250 | 0.3% | 6.7% |
Source: Ray White
Moreover, according to Conisbee, tighter restrictions on short term rentals has made holding such properties a far less enticing notion.
“In many of these areas, the number of listings has increased dramatically.”
Towns seeing the largest increases
Inland towns are seeing the largest increases, according to Conisbee.
“Victor Harbor and Naracoorte are tourism areas and it is likely that holiday home purchases would be driving part of this,” she said.
“Many of the other areas, however, are more likely to be driven by mining and agriculture. Collie in south-west WA provides most of the coal used throughout the state, while Port Augusta was historically a coal mining town but now has tourism and is important in South Australia for solar electricity generation.”
Collie’s median house price is sitting at around $290,000, according to the report, and Port Augusta at $215,000. This is a 26.1% and 22.9% annual increase, respectively.
Conisbee noted that those who bought holiday homes, especially during the pandemic when interest rates were as low as 0.1%, will still be facing heavy financial burdens for the foreseeable future.
However, for inland Australia, particularly areas where the economy is largely driven by high demand agricultural and mining production, strong conditions are likely to continue.
