According to a new survey of over 2000 property seekers, the distance that buyers are willing to move is at an all-time high.
Each year, realestate.com.au conducts in-depth research into the shifting preferences of buyers who are looking in the New Homes market. One of the key findings for 2026 is that property seekers are now prepared to widen their search further than ever before.
For Australians looking to build or buy a new home, what used to be 'too far' is now well within their search radius. Image: Getty
The latest research found that house and land buyers are planning to purchase an average of 32km away from their current or previous home in 2026. This is an increase on the 26km average reported in the previous 2024 survey.
For apartment buyers, the average was 28km, an increase on 2024’s 22km average.
Across both segments, the number of buyers only prepared to purchase within 10km of their current home decreased, while the number of buyers prepared to purchase further away increased.
This was especially true for apartment buyers, with the proportion of buyers who said they were willing to purchase 50km or more away from home almost doubling, increasing from 7% to 13% between the 2024 and 2026 surveys.
Prices put pressure on buyers' priorities
The rise in home prices is one likely explanation for this shift.
"With affordability at very challenging levels, we have been seeing more outlying, more affordable areas perform a bit better,” said REA Group senior economist Angus Moore.
“That's consistent with buyers looking a little further afield to help manage the otherwise very difficult state of housing affordability."
The 2026 New Homes research also looked at property seeker budgets, and how much they have changed since the previous survey.
For house and land buyers, the average budget was $1.048 million, an almost 10% increase on the $954,000 average budget identified in the 2024 survey. Apartment buyers’ average budget in 2026 was $988,000, an 5.7% increase on 2024’s $934,000 average.
Apartment buyers have widened their search as well. Image: Getty
Across both buyer segments, and between 2024 and 2026, the majority of buyers had a budget between $700,000 and $1.499 million. With house prices in Australia’s capital cities rising by 6.4% in the past year to $1.012 million, it appears that distance is one major variable buyers are willing to change to stay within their budget.
However, while buyers are looking further away from home for their next move, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re willing to compromise on essentials nearby.
Convenience remains important
According to the 2026 New Homes research, property seekers showed greater interest in the idea of a 20-minute neighbourhood than they did previously. For both house and land and apartment buyers, the proportion of respondents interested in a 20-minute neighbourhood increased from 38% to 43% between 2024 and 2026.
The idea of walkable, well-connected residential areas might be gaining popularity, but it is not necessarily new: the term “20-minute neighbourhood” originated in the urban planning frameworks of Portland, Oregon in the United States in the early 2010s. It refers to a community where residents can meet most of their daily needs within a 20-minute walk from their home.
The distance from their current home that buyers are willing to purchase is increasing, according to new realestate.com.au research. Picture: Getty.
The terminology has since spread worldwide, with many local and state governments codifying the practice in their own urban design strategy. The Victorian Department of Transport and Planning, for example, highlights the concept as part of their Plan Melbourne 2017-2050 strategy.
For buyers, this means that some essentials are non-negotiables for the suburbs they’re buying in, especially if those suburbs are further away from their previous homes.
The 2026 New Homes survey highlighted that grocery stores and markets, as well as medical facilities and clinics, are the essential services that Australians currently feel makes a community more desirable, while lifestyle amenities like parks, cafes and restaurants, and retail stores all also ranked highly.
Are you interested in learning more about where property seekers are buying and building new? Check out our dedicated New Homes section.
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