Why the great migration to Qld may not be over yet

The easing of pandemic restrictions appears to have done little to slow migration, with research revealing that Queensland continues to lead the nation for interstate and international buyer inquiries.

The easing of pandemic restrictions appears to have done little to slow the migration to Queensland, with new research revealing that the Sunshine State continues to lead the nation for interstate and international buyer inquiries.

And it is not great news for Sydney, with data showing many residents are still seeking to flee that city in particular.

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It would seem even more people are planning to say, see ya Sydney. Photo iStock

The final Little Hinges Sight Unseen Report for the year has revealed that just under 10 per cent of Aussies from outside of NSW are virtually inspecting properties in Australia’s most expensive city.

By comparison, a whopping 43.2 per cent of the more than 300,000 digital inspections in November were for properties on the Gold Coast, while the Sunshine Coast garnered 34.8 per cent of the national eyeballs.

And many of those Sydneysiders have the Gold Coast in their sights. Picture: iStock

Brisbane is also seeing close to 1 in 5 inspections coming from outside the state, despite a drop earlier in the year, according to the report.

“Queensland continues to lead the country with very high percentages of digital inspections being conducted from outside the region,” Little Hinges chief marketing officer Mike York said.

“We’re not only seeing big numbers of interstate inspections, but places like the Gold Coast are also seeing close to double digit inspection percentages from international buyers.

“The percentage of international buyers doesn’t necessarily reflect the same trends we’re seeing locally though – Melbourne is leading the country with 8 per cent of inspections coming from overseas, followed closely by the Gold Coast at 7.9 per cent.

“Buyers from New Zealand, the United States and the UK are also keen to snap up a piece of Australian property.”

A snapshot from the report. Little Hinges

The report said that Sydney’s title as one of the world’s most expensive cities had contributed to the exodus of residents, with the city also only attracting 4.8 per cent of international virtual inspections in November behind Perth (6.8 per cent), Sunshine Coast (5.8 per cent) and Brisbane (5.2 per cent).

But interstate residents are also leaving Victoria, according to Brisbane West Inner Realty director Kathleen Luck.

“We’re seeing a significant increase in interest from buyers in the southern states over the last two years, particularly those who want to buy sight unseen,” she said.

“We recently worked with a family of four from Victoria who were looking to purchase in Queensland and weren’t able to view properties in person.

“Integrating digital inspections into our marketing suite gave this buyer the confidence that the property on the website was as close to reality as possible, and when they arrived to see their home for the first time on settlement day, they couldn’t have been happier.

“We want to continue to tap into interstate buyers, which is a no-brainer considering the large numbers of people who want to move to Queensland.”

Between the 2016 and 2021 Census, Queensland saw the biggest net gain in people moving from interstate, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

More than 107,500 people moved to the Sunshine State, which was miles ahead of Tasmania (+15,300) and the ACT (+10,600).

All other states reported a net population loss, led by NSW (-102,000).