- Some regions experienced up to 38% price growth in the past year.
- South Australia has led this uptick, with values 5.4 per cent higher.
- According to Domain, regional WA and Vic were both 1.7% higher.
Demand for regional property continues to remain high, with some regional areas experiencing up to 38 per cent price growth in the past 12 months.
According to Domain, despite national property prices declining, 92 per cent of regional areas saw a property price rise in the last quarter as sea and tree changers continued to exit the city.
Regions still attractive to city-dwellers
Domain Chief of Research and Economics, Dr Nicola Powell said regional areas have seen a huge jump in demand given the events of the past few years.
Dr Powell said, “The pandemic has created a widespread re-pricing in regional areas with housing becoming more expensive across the board.
“Many regional house prices are still outperforming their city counterparts even though the pandemic-induced boom is over.
“The ability to work from home has allowed metro workers to continue to seek regional housing, changing the demographic and outlook of house prices in these areas” she said.
Dr Powell said while the price looks different to a local, someone from the city will be drawn to the area because the median price is considerably lower.
The big ticket growth areas
According to Domain, regional South Australia has been leading the uptick in prices, with values 5.4 per cent higher over the last quarter, while regional WA and regional Victoria were 1.7 per cent higher.
South Australia: Naracoorte Lucindale, Yankalilla and Port Pirie council areas saw the most growth with Naracoorte Lucindale increasing by 38.3 per cent.
This region lies on the edge of the Limestone Coast renowned for its adventure activities and nature lovers.
New South Wales: Across New South Wales, Glen Innes Severn Shire, a seven-hour drive from Sydney, jumped 30.8 per cent from a year earlier to a median of $340,000.
That was followed by neighbouring Armidale Regional Council, which increased 29.6 per cent to $520,000, and the Upper Hunter, which jumped 22 per cent to $455,000.
Victoria: In Victoria, the Hindmarsh, Murrindindi and Gannawarra council areas had the fastest rates of growth over the past 12 months, up 31.2 per cent, 30 per cent and 24 per cent respectively.
Areas such as Murrindindi which include Alexandra, Yea and Kinglake, saw increased popularity having benefited from the COVID-induced pivot to working from home.
Queensland: The Somerset, South Burnett and Southern Downs council areas had the fastest rates of growth in Queensland with Somerset almost doubling in growth over the past five years. The Somerset council area is only a 60 min drive from Brisbane offering tree-changers a country escape with a relatively short commute.
Western Australia: Toodyay, Augusta-Margaret River and Busselton took the top three spots for annual price growth in Western Australia.
Regional downturn sets in
After the record increase in prices across many regional areas, the boomtimes are now starting to lose steam according to Dr Powell, but it’s still a great time for homeowners looking to sell.
She said: “Most regional markets have hit their peak and will experience a slowdown in the annual change. Some regional areas that boomed earlier in the pandemic are expectedly leading the regional downturn, like popular holiday spots such as Byron Shire and Kiama.
“But many of these regions are unlikely to head back to pre-COVID prices given that the areas are still more affordable than houses in the capitals.
“Regional housing markets peaked later and while we’ll likely see prices pull back, we’ll probably see a softer landing in regional areas than in the cities” she said.
