‘More bang for your buck’: Where you can tree change for $618,000

City dwellers struggling with the cost of living and dreaming of greener pastures, and a cheaper mortgage, have plenty of options for a tree change on a budget.

There were 135 regional councils with a median house price below the national regional house price median, which was $618,000 in the June quarter, on Domain data. Many of the councils were in popular holiday and lifestyle destinations.

PRD chief economist Dr Diaswati Mardiasmo said people considering a move out of the city had plenty of buying power in most regional towns. “Six hundred thousand dollars is definitely a lot of money for regional areas, considering most regional areas are under $600,000,” she said.

“You definitely get more bang for your buck. I see all the properties and I think, ‘Oh, I would need to pay triple that in Brisbane compared to Toowoomba, or Mackay or Hervey Bay’.”

It was becoming easier to buy a home in regional towns, Mardiasmo said, as prices and competition moderated with the reversal of the tree-change trend seen during the COVID period.

“We are definitely seeing it winding back. The reason it’s winding back is because capital cities are more open now,” she said. “With more people being able to come back to the office and more companies requiring people to be in the office, it’s no longer as feasible so we’re seeing less tree-changers.”

Victoria’s South Gippsland had a median house price of $601,000, and Area Specialist director Jack Gilchrist said the region was becoming more popular with buyers looking for a rural, laid-back lifestyle.

“I’ve been in the business about eight years, and I’ve seen it grow and change a lot in that time. Korumburra is my area, but we cover all the neighbouring areas,” he said. “In that time we basically got discovered.”

Gilchrist said the number of new tree-changers had rapidly fallen since the lockdown era, and were now typically people moving out of southeastern Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula looking for more space.

“Your typical buyer there can sell their house, come down here and buy something probably nicer and still have $1 million in their pockets to play with,” he said. “Korumburra, for about $600,000 you can get yourself a renovated miner’s cottage on a decent-sized block.

“Spending a little bit more, maybe $1 million, you can get a nice lifestyle property with really good views.”

In NSW, the country music capital of Australia, Tamworth, had a median house price of $520,000 in its regional council. Partner Now Property principal Jacqui Powell said a fair number of tree-changers were still making the move out there.

“We’ve got people relocating from WA, from Sydney, Brisbane, Newcastle. We’ve got a really nice even growth,” she said. “Everybody should move to Tamworth. We have a beautiful climate, we have a really proactive community, and education is fabulous.”

Powell said $600,000 went further in Tamworth than in the capital cities.

“You will get a four bed, two bath, two car on a 700 square metre block or similar. It is good value,” she said. “You can get something that’s quite nice. You could buy a home here for $800,000 that’s as good as anywhere around Australia.”

Queensland’s Douglas Shire, which encompasses the popular holiday location of Port Douglas, had a median house price of $572,500. Ray White Port Douglas principal Mark Flinn said buyers had plenty of choice at about that price.

“The housing [in Port Douglas] starts at mid-$700,000s now, for an older house, and then works its way up from there,” he said. “You can get a nice townhouse for that $500,000 to $600,000 range.”

Port Douglas proper was popular with holidaymakers, but locals were clued in to cheaper alternatives, Flinn said.

“We’re finding a lot of local buyers are buying in a place like Cooya Beach. We’ve got options,” he said. “You might get a couple who can spend up to $700,000. You can get a townhouse in Port Douglas or you can get a whole house for that in Cooya Beach.”