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Property prices have jumped by double digits to record highs in a string of regional areas, but not Byron Bay or Torquay.
Gone are the days when pricey Byron Bay, Torquay and other coastal hotspots dominated league tables of the markets that rose most. Now, many regional hotspots have a median home value well under $1 million. Property investors are buying in Warrnambool, and demand is spilling to nearby towns.Credit: Nicole ClearyAmong the regional NSW suburbs at their peaks that rose most in the 12 months to June, Boggabri outside Tamworth increased most, up 24.1 per cent to a still-modest median dwelling value just above $342,000. Other towns in the same New England and north-west region jumped, including Werris Creek (21 per cent), Tenterfield (14.4 per cent) and Moore Creek (13.3 per cent).In regional Victoria, the peak suburb with the strongest annual growth was Terang outside Warrnambool, up 16.2 per cent to a median $402,000, while nearby Koroit rose 7.9 per cent. ... In Queensland, several postcodes in Townsville posted 20 per cent-plus gains, while the WA list was dominated by outback locations, especially around Geraldton, that jumped more than 25 per cent.He advises clients looking at regional areas to check there is good infrastructure and services coming to the town soon, and thinks it’s preferable for investors to choose an area with a slightly bigger population.
Victoria's regions, sub-regions, regional cities and local government areas
All 48 regional and rural council areas across the state are covered within the 5 regions and 10 regional cities in Victoria.
These cities are strong regional hubs providing a central point to access essential transport, health, business, employment and education and other services. These services and infrastructure are needed and used by local residents as well as people from surrounding towns and rural areas.
Regional Cities New South Wales (RCNSW) is an alliance of 15 regional cities from across the state.The alliance aims to grow regional cities in New South Wales (NSW) through increased investment that will build productive, liveable and connected regions.ADVOCATE - Advocate for appropriate government funding to invest in the services and infrastructure that regional cities need to grow, innovate and thrive.INNOVATE - Identify opportunities and impediments for the development of regional cities and develop innovative solutions to manage them.
Looking to buy a property in New South Wales? These are the 10 best suburbs in regional NSW to invest in for 2025, based on overall market performance.
This Northern Tablelands town attracts consistent buyer demand and rents are growing steadily, with vacancies a little above 1%. The Blue Mountains region is a national icon on the western fringe of Greater Sydney, with the township of Katoomba attracting consistent demand from buyers, thanks to a solid track record of capital growth.This region has a foot in two camps, being part of Regional NSW but also an extension of the Gold Coast, with an economy shared with twin town Coolangatta and easy access to Gold Coast Airport. Tweed Heads South has water frontages, green space and Tweed City Shopping Centre.Regional NSW showed signs of recovery in the second half of 2023 and translated into better sales activity in 2024. Over half of the towns and suburbs in Regional NSW have positive sales activity numbers.New South Wales provides a large variety of options for home buyers and investors. It includes some of the nation’s largest regional cities, a range of strong inland regional centres, and hill change areas.
Home values are falling and there’s more choice of homes for sale in a string of tree change and sea change towns, but good luck snapping one up.
By contrast, pockets of regional Queensland and Western Australia pushed higher. Values in Coffs Harbour fell most, down 3.8 per cent in three months, while elsewhere in NSW, Orange (-3.1 per cent) and Wagga Wagga (-2.6 per cent) also eased. The second-largest fall was in Ballarat, down 3.4 per cent in three months, and other Victorian towns to drop included Wangaratta (-2.7 per cent), Colac (-2.4 per cent) and Castlemaine (-2.2 per cent).Home values have fallen in several regional towns this winter as higher for longer interest rates make it harder for home buyers to afford a tree change, a local purchase or an investment property.The regional towns where properties are getting cheaper, but harder, to buy“The out-of-town investor market is definitely coming back into play, people are recognising there’s some pretty good yields in regional Victoria because there’s been some rental growth,” he said.
Natasha Rubin, 26, left Sydney to explore life in a regional city with her partner. She talks about her experience living in a regional town.
According to the Department of Jobs and Small Business, at least 26% of the 13 million Australian jobs to be created to the year 2023 will be found in regional areas. In particular, the health and social assistance industry is expected to enjoy a boom in regional towns, with 85,000 more jobs expected in the next few years according to the Regional Australia Institute report ‘The Future of Regional Jobs’.Unemployment rate for those under the age of 25 living in regional Australia can be as high as 25% according to the charity The Brotherhood of St Laurence. But should job prospects be a barrier to life in the country? The data suggests that Millennials making the move to a small town also crave affordable living, enjoying new experiences and being part of a community.Along with the growing job prospects in health and social assistance sector, regional cities score highly on community and volunteering efforts, according to Bond University’s Happiness Project. In addition, the HILDA survey, a 14-year long longitudinal study of Australian households, found that people who live in towns with a population up to 99,000 tend to have higher life satisfaction than people living in major urban areas.Similarly, the 2015 Regional Wellbeing Survey found 70% of rural and regional Australians felt highly satisfied with their life, while 73% would recommend their community as a good place to live. For a first person perspective, we spoke to 26-year-old Natasha to share her personal journey leaving the big smoke for the allure of life in a smaller town.
Home buyers can find discounts from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars in a string of popular coastal and country towns.
Buyers in Victoria can find several regional centres below their peaks, although the more modest boom in the state was followed by more moderate downturns. Geelong’s median dwelling value is about $732,000, or 9.2 per cent below its May 2022 peak. Values are also below peak in towns such as Ballarat (down 8 per cent) and the Warragul-Drouin area (down 7.6 per cent).PRD chief economist Dr Diaswati Mardiasmo said the Byron Bay property market was more seasonal than that of some other regional towns, and almost an outlier during 2020 and 2021 when it attracted holidaymakers who could not travel overseas.Noting that the town relied on a small number of industries, she said: “What made Byron Bay hot is not sustainable. It’s not like the Gold Coast, where you actually are building the economy.” · She contrasted this with regional Victorian towns that have better fundamentals for property buyers, such as commercial activity and infrastructure development.That’s a discount of more than $511,000 compared with its peak of $2.4 million, although it remains the most expensive regional town in Australia, with a higher median value than Greater Sydney.
Take a short break in Country NSW. Ride a Murray River paddle-steamer, taste delicious local wines, enjoy regional art galleries & have fun family activities
All the more reason to leave the Pacific Ocean behind and immerse yourself in all that Country NSW has to offer – ancient Aboriginal culture, extraordinary produce made by passionate producers and rural towns where the welcome mat is always out. Immerse yourself in the peace and quiet, and return home refreshed. Discover three acclaimed wine regions brimming with boutique cellar doors and award-winning restaurants.While the sprawling open-plain zoo may be the main drawcard of this interesting region in the centre of the state, linger longer for Australia's only Dark Sky Park, stunning caves, aviation history and more. Home to heritage towns bordered by rolling hills and national parks – not to mention the antique shopping and thriving food and wine scene – the Southern Highlands are one of Sydney's favourite weekend getaways.Named after the mighty river that flows through this southwest area of New South Wales, The Murray brings together natural wonders and unique experiences, from foodie cruises on paddlesteamers to one of the best regional art galleries in the state. Take an aerial tour of the beautiful landscapes of Country NSW, from the incredible scenery of Warrumbungle National Park to the towns of Tamworth and Glenn Innes.Host to pretty farmlands, local eateries dishing up paddock-to-plate produce, scenic towns brimming with history and plenty of natural beauty, the Southern Tablelands offers much more than a stopping-off point en route to Canberra.
I’ve personally mainly travelled to the capital cities of Australia and haven’t spent much time in the regions. So I was wondering if anyone here…
I’ve personally mainly travelled to the capital cities of Australia and haven’t spent much time in the regions. So I was wondering if anyone here could recommend a regional town/city to visit/live in what would they be?Kiama and surrounding towns Gerroa, Gerringong, Minnamurra but its getting crowded. ... Well, Canberra literally just won best city in the world for quality of life. ... That’s great. However It’s not a capital cities post this is about the regional/rural onesOrange is quite nice as far as regional NSW towns go.Posted by u/justanotherhawktuah - 3 votes and 74 comments
Regional Australia is a special place, as diverse as it is expansive. It means something different to everyone.
Millennials moving to regional towns are part of a "societal shift" and they're not interested in buying big blocks with big backyards. But they do need to live somewhere.
The main street in Merimbula, a sleepy seaside town that's growing. (Supplied: Burgess Rawson) Across regional Australia, populations have increased by an average of 12 per cent on pre-COVID levels, and they're squeezing an already tight housing market.Master Builders Association chief executive Denita Wawn said with so many younger Australians moving away from capital cities, regional towns needed to have a conversation about embracing "medium density and small high-rise" developments.Most regional councils are contending with rough sleepers for the first time, according to Australian Local Government Association head Linda Scott, who described it as a "dramatic change" in a short period of time. "There are very few places in Australia that don't speak to me about either having rough sleepers in their towns and villages for the first time — or in recent memory — or knowing that there are families and people on the precipice of rough sleeping on their towns and cities," Ms Scott said.It's why the Bega Valley Shire Council is giving serious thought to raising the building height limit in the town to accommodate new developments that could help to alleviate the region's housing shortage.
Research to better understand mobility as a service (MaaS) requirements in a regional context.
MaaS in regional towns and rural hinterlands is unlikely to be built on a strong, regular route-based public transport offering, therefore car-based solutions may be important in the mix with potentially more flexible forms of public transport services. There is also a need to acknowledge the different customer base.Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is an important part of the Future Transport Technology Roadmap of Transport for NSW. Despite accumulating a great deal of knowledge and experience in progressively introducing elements of MaaS into a metropolitan setting, there are further insights to be gained in the context of regional towns and rural hinterlands (RTRH).Design of a Regional Town and Rural Hinterland MaaS Blueprint – Executive Summary (PDF, 2.37 MB)Design of a Regional Town and Rural Hinterland MaaS Blueprint – Main Report (PDF, 12.23 MB)
Nicole realised that to make her dream of home ownership come true, she would need to leave everything she ever knew behind and start a new life in the country. But moving to a regional town was not without its challenges.
Among the biggest challenges was finding suitable work. The ideal of moving regionally can be incredibly romantic, but employment opportunities aren't always as abundant as they are in major cities. Nicole worried that moving to a country town would limit her chances of finding a partner.How much you could save by renting and buying regionally - and how to pull off a move
You've found your perfect place to live, a regional city or town that has everything you want. But, unfortunately, with the crazy state of real estate, owning the kind of property you're dreaming of in your utopia is out of your financial reach.
"They can maintain their lifestyle in a rural or regional town that they enjoy, while still having the opportunity to build wealth in a strong capital city market."The more affordable entry and high rental yields, make the western capital city a good opportunity for investors.For rural and regional Australians, rentvesting is also a way to take advantage of the growth of a booming capital city market without having to live in one."We're also seeing FIFO workers and regional Australians use this strategy as a way to build a foothold in the property market by buying an apartment in Perth and renting it out while continuing to live or rent where their work or lifestyle takes them."
A regional area in Australia is any town, small city or area that falls beyond the major capital cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Australian cities are classified into three categories. There are regional incentives to individuals who migrate to regional areas in two of the three categories
Regional centres and other regional areas. The Australian Government offers incentives to individuals who migrate to areas classified as Category 2 or Category 3, including international students. If you’re unsure whether a city or town is considered regional, you can check it against the list of designated regional area postcodes provided by the Department of Home Affairs.What comes to mind when you hear the phrase ‘regional area’? Most likely, you imagine a small, sleepy town in the middle of nowhere with nothing fun to do.A regional area is any town, small city or area that falls beyond Australia’s major capital cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.For instance, your class sizes at university will likely be smaller, giving you more opportunities to chat with your classmates and stand out to your professors. In regional areas, you won’t feel like just a number, but rather a valued member of the community.
Journey beyond the cities and explore the unique charm of Australia's regional towns. Discover their history, natural beauty, strong communities, and local experiences.
Coastal towns might offer pristine beaches, world-class surfing, and a relaxed maritime culture, while inland towns can be gateways to rugged mountain ranges, fertile farmlands, or the vast, ancient outback. Exploring these regional gems often reveals fascinating stories of Australia’s past.The sense of community is a defining feature of many Australian regional towns. Neighbors often know each other, local businesses thrive on personal connections, and community events play a central role in social life.From the gourmet delights of regional food and wine producers to the vibrant arts and crafts scenes that often flourish outside the major cities, Australia’s regional towns offer a rich tapestry of experiences. Farmers’ markets showcase fresh, locally grown produce, while boutique wineries and breweries offer tastings of regional specialties.Visiting Australia’s regional towns is an opportunity to escape the ordinary and discover the authentic character of the nation. It’s a chance to connect with the land, its history, and its people in a way that is often not possible in the larger urban centers.
The best regional towns for teachers across Australia. Moving to a regional town can open up a new chapter for teachers.
At SchoolHouse, we support teachers at every stage of their journey. This guide highlights the best regional towns for teachers in 2025, based on affordability, lifestyle appeal, community spirit, and access to services.Moving to a regional town can open up a new chapter for teachers – one that blends career growth with an enviable lifestyle.Victoria’s regional towns combine heritage charm with access to Melbourne via fast road and rail.From wine regions to lake districts, these towns offer plenty of culture alongside nature.
They include some of Australia’s vibrant capital cities, such as Perth, Adelaide, Darwin, Canberra and Hobart, as well as bustling regional metropolitan areas like the Gold Coast, Geelong and Newcastle, and idyllic country towns nestled within some of Australia’s most scenic landscape.
The South Australian Government, for example, is offering relocation support to entice health professionals to work for SA Health, while the Queensland Government is offering doctors who migrate to regional or remote Queensland an additional payment on top of their base salary. "When I first arrived in Australia, I found a job as a social worker in Alice Springs. Working in remote towns has taught me many things and helped me take the next steps in my career."Coastal cities and towns also offer fishing, swimming, surfing, paddle-boarding, sailing and a host of other water sports. And, you can even ski in Australia with popular alpine regions in New South Wales and Victoria.Cities and regional areas in Australia provide many of the same public amenities and services as Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. You’ll find good-quality schools, kindergartens, hospitals, medical clinics and maternal and child health centres, as well as public libraries, art galleries, theatres, swimming pools, sports arenas and golf courses. Most small country towns have schools, a kindergarten, a supermarket and other amenities like coffee shops, a hairdresser, a bakery and a post office.Regional areas are well supported by health services. Capital cities and cities in regional areas have world-class public and private hospitals, while larger country towns usually have a base hospital supported by smaller hospitals and GP (family medicine) clinics in surrounding towns.
Find out about Australian visas, immigration and citizenship.
See the list of eligible regional areas for the purposes of regional migration
Bendigo, Daylesford and Timboon were awarded gold prizes at the 2024 Victorian regional tourism awards.
The prestigious Top Tourism Town Awards have just been announced, with 17 finalists vying for the top prizes ... Victoria has a plethora of picturesque regional towns, boasting everything from world-class galleries to fine-dining restaurants. But with so many to choose from, which ones are truly worth a visit?Bendigo was named Victoria’s Top Tourism Town (for places with a population over 5,000), Daylesford took gold for the Top Small Tourism Town Award (for places with a population between 1,500 and 5,000) and Timboon (of ice cream fame) came out a winner for the Top Tiny Tourism Town Award (population under 1,500).These annual awards – hosted by the Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) – recognise and reward Victorian towns that go the extra mile to create an amazing experience for visitors by working together with local businesses, tourism operators and the local community.Seventeen outstanding finalists were competing for the prize this year, with townships like Warrnambool, Sorrento and Arthurs Seat earning silver medals, and Ballarat, Heathcote and Koondrook achieving bronze recognition.