The top five regional hotspots where city dwellers are moving to
Australian city dwellers are escaping the rat race at a rate even higher than during the pandemic, this year's Regional Movers Index report shows.
The quarterly report, which tracks the movement between capital cities and the regions, found city-to-regional relocations are now sitting at 20 percent above the pre-COVID average, and 1.8 percent above the city exodus recorded during the pandemic's lockdowns.
So where is everyone moving to?
Here's a list of the top five local government areas that have attracted the largest share of new residents from within Australia.
5. Maitland, NSW
This quarter's report marked a new entry to the hotspot list - Maitland, in regional NSW.
The data from September 2024 shows Maitland, which is located in the Hunter Valley and just 35 kilometres from Newcastle, attracted 3.4 per cent of net internal migration to regional Australia.
"The rising attraction of Maitland, a dynamic regional city of over 90,000 people, is due to grow over the coming decade driven mainly by its housing affordability and high standard of living," CBA Executive General Manager Regional and Agribusiness Banking Paul Fowler said.
"Located within easy proximity to Newcastle, its size and location allows residents to experience the benefits of strong employment and a full-service city, supported by a robust healthcare industry.
"There is significant development happening around Maitland, with extensive land releases for residential, industrial, commercial and retail fuelling strong employment and construction industry opportunities," Fowler said.
4. Moorabool, Victoria
Meanwhile, city dwellers continued to pour into Moorabool, a shire of roughly 35,000 in the Victorian Grampians region.
Moorabool came in fourth with a 4.5 per cent share of internal migration, despite experiencing small net outflows to other regions.
3. Lake Macquarie, NSW
Lake Macquarie, on the NSW mid-north coast entered the top five last quarter.
Now, the popular holiday spot has solidified its position by moving into third with a 4.8 per cent share, recording the highest annual growth rate among the top five at 55.8 per cent.
2. Greater Geelong, Victoria
Coming in as the second most popular hotspot is Greater Geelong.
This popular local government area held onto second place with an 8.6 per cent share, underpinned by a solid annual growth rate of 49.7 per cent.
It is just an hour-drive from Melbourne CBD on average.
1. Sunshine Coast, Queensland
And the top spot goes to... Sunshine Coast, again.
Although, when you look at that picture it's perhaps no surprise.
The Sunshine Coast retained its leading position with an 11.6 per cent share of net internal migration.
This came despite a 26.6 per cent drop-off in quarterly growth and a relatively stable annual growth rate of 1.7 per cent.
Fastest mover
Pictured here is a new housing development in Wangaratta, in north eastern Victoria.
It was the local government area which recorded biggest annual growth in the 12 months to September.
During that time, Wangaratta has seen a whopping seven-fold increase in net migration inflows.
Quarterly growth was also high, at 246.2 per cent, with both regional and city dwellers contributing to the LGA's stellar growth rate.
Hottest trend - regional Victoria
Regional Victoria has emerged as home to some of the fastest-growing regional centres, claiming four of the top five LGAs when it comes to growth, with the state stealing four out of the top five spots.
"A move to regional Victoria remains on trend among those relocating…trending scenic LGAs like Queenscliffe on the coast, as well as Moira, Wangaratta and Strathbogie located further north, offer attractive and more affordable lifestyle opportunities for many Australians," Fowler said.
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