Queensland and Western Australia continue to be some of the strongest regional locations for growth, with experts predicting there is more to come.
PropTrack senior economist, Eleanor Creagh, said regional property markets are continuing to perform well with Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia recording strong growth.
In October, dwelling values grew the most in regional South Australia (up 0.6 per cent) and regional Queensland (up 0.3 per cent) according to PropTrack.
In the past 12 months dwelling values are up by 13.6 per cent in regional Western Australia, 12.1 per cent in regional South Australia, 10.5 per cent in regional Queensland and 3.3 per cent in regional New South Wales.
Values in regional Victoria are down by 1.5 per cent.
Mandurah in Western Australia, has been one of the top regional investor hotspots as the city transitions from a mining town to an affordable alternative to Perth.
Harcourts Mandurah, Director, Ben Hatch said that Mandurah has been one of the strongest investor markets in the past few years and he’s now starting to see a lot of owner-occupier activity.
“If you went back six to eight months ago, about 70 per cent of our offers were from investors and 30 per cent from owner-occupiers,” Mr Hatch said.
“Now, 80 per cent of our offers are from owner-occupiers.
“Investors aren’t as aggressive and in full force as they were.”
He said this shift has created a window of opportunity for those looking to settle down in Mandurah, with many owner-occupiers who were previously hesitant to enter the market now finding it the right time to act.
“We’ve seen a lot of owner-occupiers who were sitting on the fence finally realising now is a good time to actually buy,” he said.
“They’re acting.”
Mr Hatch said he’s seeing a significant influx of buyers from New South Wales.
“The amount of New South Wales buyers relocating here and buying property in the Peel region to move into has been phenomenal,” he said.
“People are selling in the eastern states and arriving at our doorstep, purchasing and calling Mandurah home.”
He said that while investor activity has slowed, they haven’t left the market entirely.
“The intensity isn’t what it used to be,” he said.
“At one point, we had 168 different buyers’ agents on our books, but now, only about 40 per cent of them are active in the Peel region.”
Mr Hatch said he expects there to be continued strength in the Mandurah’s market headed into 2025.
“I think next year is going to be a very strong year,” he said.
“There’s still a massive shortage of homes, and if there’s a cut in interest rates, it’ll give owner-occupiers even more confidence to act,” he stated.
According to Hotspotting, there are a number of smaller regional areas that are also showing strong growth, including Narrabri, Leeton, Gladstone, Bundaberg and Burnie.
Hotspotting Director Terry Ryder said the Narrabri affordability is driving strong demand from first homebuyers and investors alike.
“At these low prices, compared to even many other regional areas, the Narrabri Shire offers astute investors plenty of cash flow-positive opportunities” Mr Ryder said.
“Yields are very high, from 5.7 per cent in Narrabri to 11 per cent in Wee Waa.”
