Revealed: The regional towns where house prices are surging

Families chasing the great Australian dream of a house and a back yard, minus the budget-breaking debt, are driving a regional home boom that’s leaving capital cities behind.

PropTrack data for the past financial year shows a whopping 1672 regional areas recorded an increase in their median house price, trumping the 1588 suburbs that made gains across the nation’s metropolitan areas.

With the cost of building in far flung locations making it harder for new housing supply to keep up with population growth, regional areas are also notching some of the biggest gains with double digit growth in almost 900 of the 1672 reporting gains.

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Fewer than 750 capital city suburbs had a 10 per cent or higher uptick.

Meanwhile, the back of Bourke, long used as a reference point for the nation’s most remote bush towns, was the second strongest performing place in Australia where at least 20 homes sold — behind only the town of Mulgoa, on the very edge of Sydney’s metropolitan area.

But separate Mortgage Choice figures show debt is rising in the bush too, with home loan data for regional areas’ nationwide suggesting a 6 per cent uptick in loan sizes year on year.

Refinancing in the regions has also surged, rising 14 per cent as households grapple with a cost of living crisis.

PropTrack economics executive manager Angus Moore said regional home prices were up about 6.5 per cent nationwide, for the past year. Capital cities meanwhile were up only about 4.3 per cent.

“It’s not a huge gap, but it means you would expect to see more regional suburbs performing than in the capital cities. And that’s true nation wide, and for each state as well,” Mr Moore said.

Relative affordability, with an about $300,000 gap between city and country prices nationwide, was the key driver behind the change, as were bigger home sizes, greater tolerance for remote work.

“We are still seeing capital to regional migration, though it’s not at the level it was in the pandemic it would still be considered quite high — and higher than the average of the last decade,” Mr Moore said.

The result though, has been erosion of that affordability for homebuyers — and for tenants who are grappling with costs rising “very, very quickly” amid historically low vacancy rates.

“Obviously affordability concerns are biting pretty hard at the moment, and while mortgage rates are coming down they are still high historically — and that has pushed affordability to problematic levels,” Mr Moore said.

Of the regional areas gaining value in the past year, 1480 had a median house price uplift that topped the consumer price index in the 12 months to March 31 this year — suggesting that they are outpacing wage growth.

Mortgage Choice chief executive Anthony Waldron said the rising average loan size in metropolitan areas was leading to more buyers looking to the regions.

“These buyers vary from those considering a lifestyle change, to those looking to buy an investment property or a first home at a more accessible price point,” Mr Waldron said.

“Given the affordability pressure in metro areas, it’s not surprising to see average loan sizes in regional areas on the rise.”

Real Estate Institute of Australia president Leanne Pilkington said Covid had “changed so many things forever” and now people had different ideas of where home could be.

“There are still plenty of big businesses that are allowing people to work remotely and that’s a choice we probably didn’t have pre-pandemic,” Ms Pilkington said.

However, she warned there could be problems if regional areas outpaced major capitals for too long of a period.

“It’s happened in Byron Bay where it has become really hard for businesses to get waiters and bar staff, because they just cannot afford anywhere to live,” Ms Pilkington said.

While rate cuts might deliver some housing affordability improvements for those who own a home, she warned this would not be the same for tenants – making it likely areas that had begun to feel the strain for certain work force groups would continue to do so.

The remote NSW town of Bourke is now home to Australia’s fastest growing regional house prices, after 53 sales in the past financial year underpinned PropTrack data showing the town’s median house price jumped a hefty $180,000 (127.2 per cent) to $323,750.

Schute Bell Badgery Lumby real estate agent Shane Russell said Bourke was definitely “busier than it used to be”, but warned the past 12 months data was likely skewed as a result of differing types of homes selling, or recent renovations.

However, he said it had certainly doubled in the past few years due to the difficulty of building new houses when the nearest heavy machinery was located 350km away in Dubbo.

“We are moving houses in the range of $120,000-$200,000, but four or five years ago they went for $50,000-$60,000,” Mr Russell said.

“So there has been growth, but it’s really because there’s not really any new housing being built.”

Thomas Foods International reopened the abattoir in the town in 2022, which has brought jobs and fresh faces to the area, while a rising number of the areas buyers are first-home buyers looking for something they could renovate and pay less than they would in rent at a major city.

“The people who are buying now were paying $400 a week in rent, and for a $150,000 buy, your repayments are not even half that. So they are saying it’s better than paying dead money on rent,” Mr Russell said.

Where Regional Home Prices Are Growing

Bourke (NSW): $323,750 (median) — Up 127.2%

Lake Cargelligo (NSW): $300,000 (median) — Up 126.4%

Moora (WA): $350,000 (median) — Up 89.2%

Girards Hill (NSW): $542,500 (median) — Up 66.9%

Marburg (QLD): $969,000 (median) — Up 58.2%

Beachlands (WA): $501,000 (median) — Up 56.6%

Dundee Beach (NT): $410,000 (median) — Up 53.3%

Albany (WA): $1.128m (median) — Up 52.9%

Bowenfels (NSW): $645,000 (median) — Up 50.9%

North Beach (SA): $686,062.5 (median) — Up 50.8%

Source: PropTrack

New South Wales

Bourke: $323,750 (median) — Up 127.2%

Lake Cargelligo: $300,000 (median) — Up 126.4%

Girards Hill: $542,500 (median) — Up 66.9%

Bowenfels: $645,000 (median) — Up 50.9%

Cambewarra: $725,000 (median) — Up 49.5%

Lismore: $550,000 (median) — Up 43.8%

Coal Point: $1,912,500 (median) — Up 41.7%

Darlington Point: $385,000 (median) — Up 35.1%

Nyngan: $265,000 (median) — Up 32.5%

Glenning Valley: $1.16m (median) — Up 30.3%

Source: PropTrack

Victoria

Ouyen: $260,000 (median) — Up 38.9%

Rochester: $397,500 (median) — Up 32.9%

Merbein: $398,500 (median) — Up 28.5%

Donald: $280,000 (median) — Up 22.8%

Rutherglen: $585,000 (median) — Up 21%

Red Cliffs: $420,000 (median) — Up 18%

Bright: $1.1m (median) — Up 17%

Mount Pleasant: $520,000 (median) — Up 16.9%

Camperdown: $490,000 (median) — Up 16.7%

Terang: $465,000 (median) — Up 16.3%

Source: PropTrack

Queensland

Marburg: $969,000 (median) — Up 58.2%

Monto: $310,000 (median) — Up 47.6%

Pimlico: $570,000 (median) — Up 42.5%

North Ward: $1.2m (median) — Up 42%

Gayndah: $365,000 (median) — Up 41.7%

Aitkenvale: $530,000 (median) — Up 41.7%

Gladstone Central: $467,500 (median) — Up 41.7%

Grasstree Beach: $650,000 (median) — Up 39.8%

Rockhampton City: $375,000 (median) — Up 39.7%

Currajong: $530,000 (median) — Up 39.5%

Source: PropTrack

South Australia

North Beach: $686,062.5 (median) — Up 50.8%

Solomontown: $295,000 (median) — Up 44.6%

Peterborough: $200,000 (median) — Up 33.3%

Waikerie: $390,000 (median) — Up 31.8%

Barmera: $384,500 (median) — Up 30.3%

Tailem Bend: $390,000 (median) — Up 30%

Crystal Brook: $327,000 (median) — Up 29.5%

Jamestown: $340,000 (median) — Up 27.1%

Tanunda: $761,500 (median) — Up 26.9%

Kadina: $463,000 (median) — Up 26.7%

Source: PropTrack

Tasmania

Romaine: $540,000 (median) — Up 17.4%

Scottsdale: $450,000 (median) — Up 15.4%

Beaconsfield: $444,000 (median) — Up 13.8%

Ulverstone: $565,000 (median) — Up 13%

Prospect Vale: $685,000 (median) — Up 11.6%

Kings Meadows: $552,000 (median) — Up 10.5%

Sheffield: $513,000 (median) — Up 10.3%

West Ulverstone: $540,000 (median) — Up 10.2%

Penguin: $605,000 (median) — Up 10%

Upper Burnie: $437,500 (median) — Up 9.4%

Source: PropTrack

Northern Territory

Dundee Beach: $410,000 (median) — Up 53.3%

Edith: $330,000 (median) — Up 36.1%

Marrakai: $302,500 (median) — Up 21%

Katherine East: $384,000 (median) — Up 13.8%

Araluen: $585,500 (median) — Up 10.5%

Sadadeen: $462,500 (median) — Up 9.6%

Katherine: $377,500 (median) — Up 6.3%

Cossack: $692,500 (median) — Down 1.1%

Braitling: $465,000 (median — Down 2.3%

Larapinta: $415,000 (median) — Down 3.5%

Source: PropTrack

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