Geelong experienced a 6 per cent jump in the share of people leaving a capital city for good. Picture: Brad Fleet
Geelong holds its position Australia’s second most popular regional city to live after its share in people moving out of capital cities increased in 2025.
New Regional Australia Institute figures revealed 6.6 per cent of people leaving a capital city settled in Geelong in the 12 months to September.
The city’s lifestyle and affordability drew a 6 per cent increase in people leaving capital cities for good, the quarterly Regional Movers Index showed.
The Sunshine Coast remained the most popular regional destination, though it’s 7.1 per cent share of city leavers revealed nearly 17 per cent fewer moved north compared to the same period in 2024.
RELATED: Builders’ own Highton renovation nets huge sale price
Geelong suburbs where home values are booming
‘It’s just timing’: The $5.5m impulse holiday buy
A growing trend has emerged of people moving beyond Geelong, with an 11.4 per cent annual rise on the Surf Coast and a fourfold increase in Colac-Otway Shire.
The increasing demand from people leaving capital cities is playing a part in fanning property prices, amid rising competition for homes, and places pressure on meeting region’s housing targets.
PropTrack Home Price Index data revealed a 3.2 per cent rise in Geelong’s median house value to $793,000 at the end of 2025.
Maxwell Collins Geelong agent Nick Lord said the movement of people from Melbourne helps underpin Geelong’s property market.
Maxwell Collins director Nick Lord said interest from homebuyers leaving Melbourne help underpin the Geelong property market.
“We’ve had some very obvious increases in Melbourne traffic versus local buyers over a couple of cycles. At the moment I think’s it’s reasonably stable,” Mr Lord said.
“We’re seeing a lot of relocations of people into Geelong for lifestyle or work purposes.
“The lifestyle and word of mouth has really spread. Coupled with affordability and for people working from home post-Covid has created less of a barrier for people to commute up the highway.”
RAI chief executive officer Liz Ritchie said the index revealed net migration to regions was up 11.8 per cent as the regions gained thousands more residents, marking one of the highest levels since the Covid pandemic.
“We see that the more movement to the regions there is, there’s greater number of destinations to choose from,” Ms Ritchie said.
Regional Australia Institute chief executive officer Liz Ritchie said the federal government needs to better plan where to build housing in regional Australia. Picture: Jonathan Ng
“The tussle between the Sunshine Coast and Geelong has always been pretty tight. But there is a broader story about movement further south to places like Albury/Wodonga, Tasmanian regions and Colac.
“It’s not that people are moving to these places and not working, they are finding a way to design the lives they want to live and live where they love.”
Ms Ritchie said the institute supports the federal government’s housing target, but called for more investment as regional populations rise.
Recent figures show the National Housing Accord is about 60,000 behind target.
“There is a race to meet a target, but that target is not sitting alongside a plan,” she said.
“We’ve been saying for many years that we need this population plan and map where the housing investment needs to go.”
The Regional Movers Index records the net migration of Commonwealth Bank customers from capital city areas to regional areas who have stayed for at least six months.
Help us improve your reading experience
Got a minute? Your feedback will help us build a better experience for you.
Help us improve this page
English (US) · 