Jellis Craig Geelong agent Marcus Falconer said it’s easy to convince people why Geelong is a good place to live.
It’s never been easier to sell the Geelong lifestyle to people from Melbourne and Sydney seeking a life in the regions, says veteran Geelong real estate agent Marcus Falconer.
Geelong remains one of the nation’s favourite places to settle for people leaving a major capital city, accounting for 5.3 per cent of people on the move, according to the latest Regional Movers Index.
The latest report for the 12 months to March revealed a record number of people moved to Australia’s regions, but a drop in migration to Geelong after the city peaked as the nation’s top destination with nearly 10 per cent of regional movers this time last year.
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The Index is a partnership between Commonwealth Bank and the Regional Australia Institute (RAI) and tracks the movement of people between capital cities and regions.
“It’s never been an easier sell than now,” Mr Falconer, director of Jellis Craig Geelong, said.
“Even five years ago we needed to convince people of certain attributes, but probably one of the biggest turnarounds we’ve seen is that the amount of people that have relocated over the past five to 10 years, they’re now spruiking the benefits of this fine region,” he said.
The increasing white collar job opportunities on top of the schooling and lifestyle benefits was helping maintain the wave people relocating to Geelong, Mr Falconer said.
“It’s basically its own independent centre now, it’s no longer a sleeping hollow,” Mr Falconer said.
Geelong has seen a rise in white collar jobs, attracting more people to the region. Picture: Brad Fleet
“It has its own financial security – its own professional hub, schooling hub, it’s got its own direction, its own identity.
“And people have never be more motivated to get out of crime-filled Melbourne for a better, safer lifestyle.”
Villawood Properties executive director Rory Costelloe said Geelong is the best place to live, but there are growing pains.
“In a nutshell, when you’ve got a university, three hospitals, five grammar-grade schools, plus the Catholic private schools, plus the public schools, and you’re on a bay, an ocean and a river, that’s why they want to be here, the lifestyle picture is just so good,” Mr Costelloe said.
Mr Costelloe said the market had rebalanced, so there was a price gap in the market once again but there was poorer choice to service the demand.
Villawood Properties executive director Rory Costelloe.
“Land in Armstrong Creek’s nearly finished and the discernible choice in Armstrong Creek is now diminished to almost nothing. There’s still pockets of land available, but there’s no major projects left with a good offering,” he said.
Queensland’s Sunshine Coast remains the top regional destination with an 8.8 per cent share of regional movers, with Fraser Coast third at 3.9 per cent.
Victoria’s Moorabool Shire, surrounding Bacchus Marsh, was the fourth-biggest council area, ahead of Lake Macquarie in New South Wales.
RAI chief executive officer Liz Ritchie said the record result cemented the need for a co-ordinated national approach to population planning.
The first major housing estates in Geelong’s Armstrong Creek growth area are close to selling out. Picture: Brad Fleet
“This is the highest level of capital to regional movement the RMI has ever recorded,” she said.
“Australians are continuing to choose regional life in greater numbers, even as economic conditions shift. Across Covid, inflation, housing pressures and tight labour markets, the trend has been remarkably consistent – people are leaving capital cities for regions, and they’re doing so at increasing rates,” Ms Ritchie said.
Sydney and Melbourne provide 91 per cent of net outflows, but that share is lower as more people left Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, with the movement to regions is become more widespread across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
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