Australia’s regional cities are outpacing the capitals for property price growth as housing affordability and stronger growth prospects push homebuyers and investors towards smaller markets on the way up.
The price of a typical capital city house has exceeded $1 million for the first time, prompting many buyers to shift focus to less expensive cities with more room to grow.
Regional Australia’s home price growth outpaced the combined capitals in the past year, according to the latest PropTrack Home Price Index.
But in the top-performing regional cities, values are growing more than twice as fast as in the capitals.
PropTrack data ranking Australia’s largest regional cities by home price growth shows that values have jumped most in cities where homes are still affordable.
Nine of the top 10 regional cities for house price growth had a median house price below $1 million, with typical houses priced around the $600,000 to $700,000 mark.
These more affordable price points and higher rental yields have proven attractive to borderless property investors looking to buy cashflow-positive rental properties and take advantage of local price upswings.
Combined with homebuyers increasingly moving to the regions for better housing affordability and a lifestyle change, the influx of demand has helped push up prices, especially in markets where supply is tight.
Rockhampton was the regional city with the fastest house price growth in the past year. Picture: Getty
PropTrack senior economist Anne Flaherty said price growth in regional cities was supported by long-term demographic tailwinds.
“Over the long term we see more people moving to regional areas,” she said.
“Intrastate migration – people leaving capital city areas into regional areas – was a trend for decades before the pandemic accelerated it, and now we’ve returned to long term average levels.”
Flexible work arrangements and a wave of tree- and sea-changing baby boomers had also contributed to demand in regional areas, as did cyclical industries such as mining, she said.
PropTrack data shows that house prices in Rockhampton grew faster than in any other regional city and most of the capitals, rising almost 19% in just 12 months to a median of $631,000.
Rockhampton was one of several coastal Queensland cities where prices have surged, with values in Townsville, Cairns, Gladstone, Mackay and Bundaberg up by 13-15%.
How house prices have changed in Australia's largest regional cities
| LGA | State | Median value (AVM) | 12-month growth (%) | 12-month growth ($) | |
| 1 | Rockhampton | QLD | $631,000 | 19.20% | $102,000 |
| 2 | Geraldton | WA | $610,000 | 18.50% | $95,000 |
| 3 | Toowoomba | QLD | $811,000 | 17.80% | $122,000 |
| 4 | Launceston | TAS | $642,000 | 17.50% | $96,000 |
| 5 | Tamworth | NSW | $613,000 | 16.50% | $87,000 |
| 6 | Busselton | WA | $1,186,000 | 15.80% | $162,000 |
| 7 | Mildura | VIC | $532,000 | 14.70% | $68,000 |
| 8 | Townsville | QLD | $694,000 | 14.60% | $88,000 |
| 9 | Cairns | QLD | $803,000 | 14.30% | $100,000 |
| 10 | Albury | NSW | $677,000 | 13.90% | $83,000 |
| 11 | Wodonga | VIC | $656,000 | 13.70% | $79,000 |
| 12 | Gladstone | QLD | $652,000 | 13.40% | $77,000 |
| 13 | Wagga Wagga | NSW | $690,000 | 13.30% | $81,000 |
| 14 | Mackay | QLD | $699,000 | 13.20% | $81,000 |
| 15 | Bundaberg | QLD | $680,000 | 13.00% | $78,000 |
| 16 | Gold Coast | QLD | $1,425,000 | 12.40% | $157,000 |
| 17 | Sunshine Coast | QLD | $1,293,000 | 12.30% | $142,000 |
| 18 | Newcastle | NSW | $1,099,000 | 12.30% | $120,000 |
| 19 | Bunbury | WA | $700,000 | 12.10% | $75,000 |
| 20 | Bendigo | VIC | $635,000 | 11.30% | $65,000 |
| 21 | Ballarat | VIC | $600,000 | 11.30% | $61,000 |
| 22 | Orange | NSW | $744,000 | 9.80% | $66,000 |
| 23 | Ballina | NSW | $1,150,000 | 9.40% | $99,000 |
| 24 | Wollongong | NSW | $1,155,000 | 7.80% | $83,000 |
| 25 | Coffs Harbour | NSW | $941,000 | 7.40% | $64,000 |
| 26 | Geelong | VIC | $771,000 | 7.20% | $52,000 |
| 27 | Shepparton | VIC | $530,000 | 6.90% | $34,000 |
| 28 | Port Macquarie-Hastings | NSW | $912,000 | 6.10% | $53,000 |
| 29 | Shoalhaven | NSW | $886,000 | 5.90% | $49,000 |
| 30 | Wingecarribee | NSW | $1,232,000 | 4.40% | $52,000 |
The data uses PropTrack’s automated valuation model (AVM) to determine the median property value and annual price growth for the largest regional local government areas (LGA) – cities with populations ranging from about 30,000 to 300,000.
Regional Queensland has been one of the nation’s strongest property markets in the past five years, with values growing 86% in that period – twice as fast as in regional NSW.
Get your realEstimate™
Track your property's value and unlock insights and data tailored for property owners.
Real estate agent Todd Brandon of The Agency CQ said home prices in Rockhampton still had plenty of room to grow, given the city’s relative affordability.
“It’s a secure and stable region to invest in, whether you're buying a home or investment property,” he said.
“Compared to other regional areas, we’re still quite affordable.”
Geraldton was the second-strongest regional city for house price growth, with values jumping 18.5% in 12 months to a median price of $610,000.
House prices in Toowoomba surged by almost 18% in the past year, while unit prices jumped more than 28%. Picture: Getty
Toowoomba came in third place, with prices up 17.8% to $810,000. It also topped the charts for unit price growth, with values jumping by a whopping 28.6% in just a year.
Ms Flaherty said Toowoomba’s relative affordability to Brisbane was a big part of its appeal to buyers.
“We’ve seen extremely rapid home price growth across the Greater Brisbane area,” she said.
“Toowoomba is quite commutable, and there’s public transport and road infrastructure going in."
Houses in Toowoomba are about $416,000 cheaper than Brisbane while units cost $221,000 less, based on median values.
How unit prices have changed in Australia's largest regional cities
| LGA | State | Median value (AVM) | 12-month growth (%) | 12-month growth ($) | |
| 1 | Toowoomba | QLD | $633,000 | 28.60% | $141,000 |
| 2 | Rockhampton | QLD | $416,000 | 24.40% | $82,000 |
| 3 | Mildura | VIC | $369,000 | 23.50% | $70,000 |
| 4 | Cairns | QLD | $460,000 | 23.40% | $87,000 |
| 5 | Townsville | QLD | $502,000 | 21.30% | $88,000 |
| 6 | Tamworth | NSW | $398,000 | 20.60% | $68,000 |
| 7 | Bunbury | WA | $536,000 | 20.30% | $91,000 |
| 8 | Gladstone | QLD | $398,000 | 17.70% | $60,000 |
| 9 | Ballarat | VIC | $425,000 | 17.30% | $63,000 |
| 10 | Bundaberg | QLD | $490,000 | 16.70% | $70,000 |
| 11 | Gold Coast | QLD | $979,000 | 15.90% | $134,000 |
| 12 | Mackay | QLD | $376,000 | 15.90% | $51,000 |
| 13 | Orange | NSW | $512,000 | 15.40% | $68,000 |
| 14 | Wodonga | VIC | $406,000 | 13.60% | $49,000 |
| 15 | Bendigo | VIC | $483,000 | 13.50% | $57,000 |
| 16 | Sunshine Coast | QLD | $920,000 | 12.10% | $100,000 |
| 17 | Busselton | WA | $804,000 | 11.60% | $84,000 |
| 18 | Wagga Wagga | NSW | $482,000 | 11.50% | $50,000 |
| 19 | Ballina | NSW | $842,000 | 11.30% | $86,000 |
| 20 | Launceston | TAS | $503,000 | 10.50% | $48,000 |
| 21 | Geraldton | WA | $333,000 | 10.00% | $30,000 |
| 22 | Albury | NSW | $391,000 | 9.50% | $34,000 |
| 23 | Wingecarribee | NSW | $853,000 | 7.60% | $60,000 |
| 24 | Newcastle | NSW | $795,000 | 7.10% | $52,000 |
| 25 | Geelong | VIC | $565,000 | 6.80% | $36,000 |
| 26 | Port Macquarie-Hastings | NSW | $625,000 | 5.60% | $33,000 |
| 27 | Coffs Harbour | NSW | $621,000 | 5.20% | $31,000 |
| 28 | Wollongong | NSW | $768,000 | 4.70% | $35,000 |
| 29 | Shoalhaven | NSW | $694,000 | 1.90% | $13,000 |
| 30 | Shepparton | VIC | $361,000 | 1.70% | $6,000 |
House values in Launceston are up 17.5% compared to a year ago, with prices bouncing back strongly after a quieter period.
Investors and buyer’s agents positioning for the city’s rebound have become increasingly active, said Launceston real estate agent Michael Dearsley of Harrison Agents.
“There's a lot going on in terms of development and progression in the city,” he said.
“The investors that I talk to agree it’s got the correct metrics for future growth.”
“We're getting a lot of interstate migration. We’ve got a shortage of supply of houses. The rental returns stack up for the sale price.”
Launceston has rebounded after a lull in the market and is now one of the top-performing cities in Australia for house price growth. Picture: Getty
It's not the only regional market where prices are rebounding, with several Victorian cities recording notable gains after slower periods.
House prices in Mildura are up 14.7% while unit values surged 23.5%, with the north-western Victorian city in the sights of both investors and first-home buyers recently.
Values have jumped by between 11% and 14% in Ballarat, Bendigo and Wodonga, while unit prices have grown even faster, by about 13% to 17% – significantly outpacing Melbourne’s price growth of about 3% in that period.
These cities have been tipped as markets to watch in the year ahead, given relative affordability compared with Melbourne and increasing interest from investors looking to take advantage of strong rental demand and a catch-up in price growth in regional Victoria.
Mildura's property market is surging as homebuyers and investors look to more affordable cities for strong growth. Picture: Getty
Ms Flaherty said regional and capital cities differed in the diversity of their local economies, with price movements in smaller cities often influenced by the ups and downs of a dominant industry.
“Generally speaking if a specific industry in a regional area is doing really well – the classic example being mining or potentially if some type of manufacturing – that increases jobs and economic opportunities for people. More people move into the area and it creates demand for housing," she said.
“On the flipside when those industries stagnate or slow down, that can be a massive blow to those regional markets. A lot of people can leave and that brings down home prices.”
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) · 