Australia’s most popular sea change destinations

Around 25 per cent more Aussies are moving out of the cities to the regions rather than the other way around. This is where they are headed.

People leaving the capital cities for regional areas are predominantly choosing to move to regional NSW, Queensland and Victoria, with the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast the most favoured destinations today, according to new figures published by the Regional Australia Institute (RAI).

Quitting metro areas for a sea-change or treechange has become more popular since the pandemic.

A big factor in this is people being able to work from home, meaning they can live anywhere they like. This is resulting in a lot of millennial families choosing to buy cheaper homes in regional locations. The RAI says about 25 per cent more people are moving from the cities to the regions than back in the other direction.

The Sunshine Coast is Australia’s most popular sea-change destination.

During Covid, this was much higher at about 55 per cent, and at current levels the relocation rate remains about 2.5 per cent above the pre-Covid average. Based on relocations data from the Commonwealth Bank, the RAI estimates that city to regional moves now account for 11.3 per cent of all relocations within Australia.

Among all the city dwellers leaving the hustle and bustle of metropolitan life behind for the regions, 65 per cent of them left Sydney and 35 per cent left Melbourne.

Over the past year, the popularity of regional NSW surged and accounted for 36 per cent of net capital city outflows, up from 26 per cent. The latest data from CoreLogic shows home values in regional NSW are up 4 per cent over the past year and up 46.9 per cent since the start of Covid in March 2020.

SUNSHINE STATE THE PLACE TO BE

Net city outflows to regional Queensland were relatively steady at 32 per cent. Home values in regional Queensland have increased 10.5 per cent over the past year and 56.2 per cent since March 2020.

Outflows were also reasonably steady in Victoria at 30 per cent. Home values have fallen -0.7 per cent in regional Victoria over the past year and are up 33.6 per cent since March 2020. The five most popular regional destinations among city dwellers are all in close proximity to the East Coast capitals.

This is a common choice, as people like to be able to return to the capitals with relative ease for work reasons and to regularly reconnect with friends and family.

MOST POPULAR REGIONS WITH SEACHANGERS AND TREECHANGERS

1. Sunshine Coast, Queensland (13.4 per cent share of net capital city to regional migration)

2. Gold Coast, Queensland (9.5 per cent share)

3. Moorabool, Victoria (6.1 per cent share)

4. Lake Macquarie, NSW (5.2 per cent share)

5. Greater Geelong, Victoria (4.9 per cent share)

NEW SEACHANGE, TREECHANGE HOTSPOTS IN AUSTRALIA

1. Northam, Western Australia (92.6 per cent increase in net capital city to regional migration)

2. Waroona, Western Australia (76.7 per cent increase)

3. Bridgetown-Greenbushes, Western Australia (75 per cent increase)

4. Western Downs, Queensland (63.4 per cent increase)

5. Whitsunday, Queensland (52.7 per cent increase)

Competitors ready their balloons for the National Ballooning Championships 2017 held at the Western Australian wheat belt town of Northam, WA.

People leaving the cities tend to fall into two groups:

1. Empty nesters and retirees, many of whom purchase premium houses and apartments in desirable sea-change and treechange areas.

2. Young families who can work from home seeking better affordability in regional areas, typically buying ‘forever’ family homes with backyards.

There’s another group of city relocators that will grow in size over the next decade. That’s workers moving to regional areas to work on major renewable energy projects, like wind farms.

This will cause a population surge in certain areas, pushing up values and encouraging new development, particularly apartments in many regional towns that have never had them before.

* John McGrath is the founder, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of McGrath Estate Agents

Originally published as Australia’s most popular sea change destinations