Regional markets leading the way in value growth

CoreLogic’s latest Regional Market Update has found that dwelling values in regional areas rose 1.1 per cent in the three months to October, surpassing the 0.8 per cent growth recorded in the nation’s capitals over the same period.

Queensland and Western Australian regions have continued to be the top-performing regions, occupying the top eight spots for quarterly value growth areas.

Mining markets were particularly well represented among the best-performing areas across a range of metrics, such as Queensland’s Mackay (8.3 per cent), the top area for quarterly growth, followed by Geraldton in Western Australia, up 8.2 per cent, and Townsville in Queensland, up 6.6 per cent, according to CoreLogic economist and report author, Kaytlin Ezzy.

Additionally, Geraldton recorded the strongest annual increase in dwelling values, up by 28.7 per cent over the year to October, with over $100,000 added to the median dwelling value.

Gladstone and Townsville in Queensland similarly recorded annual growth of 27.2 per cent and 26.9 per cent, respectively.

Ezzy said: “Regions like Mackay, Geraldton, and Townsville are seeing exceptional growth, driven by affordability advantages compared to our major cities, as well as lifestyle appeal.

“This will have contributed to the strong demand but even with the impressive growth, for those with the capacity to service a mortgage, they still remain attainable with medians less than $600,000.”

On the other hand, seven out of eight Victorian Significant Suburban Areas (SUAs) and 10 out of 21 NSW SUAs have seen value declines over the three months to October.

Batemans Bay on NSW’s South Coast experienced the largest decline of 2.7 per cent over the quarter, followed closely by Warrnambool in Victoria at 2.6 per cent.

Ten markets across NW and Victoria saw value falls, led by Ballarat at 6.3 per cent, followed by St Georges Basin (NSW) and Warragul (Victoria), both down by 3.9 per cent over the year.

According to Ezzy, the downturn in regional coastal and lifestyle areas partially reflects their strong performance during the pandemic, a time when demand spiked for affordable lifestyle markets and more space.

“While these markets thrived during the early stages of COVID, reduced affordability and a range of headwinds have since softened conditions,” she said.

“There’s certainly been a slowdown in demand for these areas and more stock on the market and that’s in addition to higher interest rates, cost of living pressures, and limited borrowing capacity.”

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Adrian Suljanovic is a journalist at Broker Daily with more than two years experience reporting on all facets of the third party distribution channel.

Adrian has written for a range of business and finance titles including IFA, Investor Daily and Lawyer’s Weekly before joining the mortgages team in 2022.

He graduated from the University of Wollongong in 2021 gaining a Bachelor of Communication & Media with a major in Digital & Social Media.

E-mail Adrian at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.