Australia's most popular retirement neighbourhoods

Analysing ABS data, property research company CoreLogic found the most popular area for retirees is Victoria’s Queenscliffe, with 40.3 per cent of dwellers being retirees over 65 years old.

Meanwhile, the area experiencing the largest house value growth was Quairading in Western Australia, with 28.2 per cent of over 65 retirees, which experienced a 21.5 per cent rise over the last year.

 This was followed by a 15.3 per cent rise in Shoalhaven in NSW, with 25.4 per cent of over-65 retirees.

Meanwhile, areas that experienced the largest falls over the last year include Mount Remarkable in South Australia at 7.1 per cent and Flinders in Tasmania at 5.2 per cent.

Cameron Kusher, CoreLogic research analyst, pointed out that none of the areas are located in a capital city.

“In fact, if we list all councils nationally by their proportion of residents aged at least 65, the first capital city area listed is Holdfast Bay in Adelaide with 23.1 per cent  of its residents at least 65 years old,” Mr Kusher said.

“Council areas within NSW and South Australia also dominate the list with each of these states having 13 entries on the list.”

Mr Kusher also pointed out the top 50 areas typically have lower median house values when compared to their respective capital city.

“This could be due to retirees moving to areas where housing is more affordable in order to free-up capital for them to enjoy their retirement; it could also be out of necessity due to the high cost of housing within most capital cities,” he explained.

“The locations are also likely to be linked to lifestyle preferences, with a large number of the top council areas located in regional coastal areas.”

Looking at the value growth performance for houses across these top 50 regions, the data shows that generally the rate of growth has been lower than that of the larger capital cities. Thirty-one of the 50 council areas listed have seen house values rise over the past year.

The top 50 areas with the highest proportion of over-65 retirees are:

[Related: National housing conditions hold steady despite Sydney's slowdown]