The lure of rural living offering more bang for buck than the capitals has seen many buyers bid farewell to city life – and they’re moving to some very unsuspecting regional hubs.

While regional locations like the Sunshine Coast, Geelong and Lake Macquarie continue to attract the most Aussie movers overall, capital city residents have also been flocking to several lower-profile regions.

Albury on the NSW-Victorian border, Gingin and East Pilbara in WA, Townsville in north Queensland and Victoria’s Bendigo region have emerged as hotspots for capital city movers according to new data from the Regional Australia Institute and CBA.

The biggest growth in net inflows from capital city movers was seen in Albury, with an incredible 16-fold increase in the 12 months to June 2025, compared with the previous year.

Located on the Murray River on the border of NSW and Victoria, Albury has caught the eye of young families, investors and downsizers for not only its proximity to Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney, but the lifestyle it offers.

Local agent Clinton Gilson from Gilson Yonson Real Estate has experienced the influx first hand, telling realestate.com.au Albury is popular for its university, good schools and big sporting community.

“We’re not far from Melbourne, we’re three and a half hours from Canberra, and only five and a half hours of Sydney now,” he said.

 “You’ve still got that country living but you’re still close to everything, it’s still a big centre.”

He noted affordable housing is one draw card for city residents wanting more space, without sacrificing on amenities and activities.

“The fact that in Melbourne and Sydney, you’ve got to spend probably $1.2 million to $1.5 million [for a house], whereas here you can get a good house for $600,000 to $700,000, which is obviously half that price.

“And you have that rural aspect of it all, you’re not living in each other’s pockets, so to speak.”

House values in the Albury are rising with the median house price increasing 7.7% during the past year to $910,000, according to PropTrack.

The most popular house price bracket in Albury was the $600,000 mark, Mr Gilson said.

 “If it’s under $600,000 it’ll sit for about a week, if that, and it will be lucky to make it to open house,” he said.

“Between $600,000 to $800,000, it’s about between 60 to 90 days.”

Agent and auctioneer Jack Stean from Stean Nicholls said while the region was attracting a strong batch of young families and retirees looking to downsize, the investment market was also strong.

“There’s a strong demand and probably similar to Melbourne and Sydney, the closer into town, the less yield you get, because you get better capital growth,” he said. “But it probably varies between 3% up to 6%, 6.5%.”

Kylie Allen, CBA’s executive general manager of regional and agribusiness banking, said the border cities of Albury and Wodonga were an example of how regions with broad economies can successfully attract the many Australians wanting to leave the city for a tree change.

“With more affordable land in close proximity to major cities and airports, a range of major employers based there that are continuing to recruit, educational institutions and many lifestyle benefits, it’s no surprise to see how these regions are thriving,” she said.

Historic WA town on city buyers’ radar

Another increasingly popular place for capital city movers was Gingin in WA, which recorded a 273.7% increase in net inflows.

One of Western Australia’s oldest towns, located about 67km north of Perth, Gingin has experienced a remarkable growth in buyer demand in the last six months according to Country Values Real Estate principal Craig Hyne.

“Gingin is pretty close to the Perth metro area and it’s only an hour from Gingin into the city,” he said.

“So we’re finding a lot of people – which sort of started happening after Covid – were finding that they wanted a bit more space.”

He said compared to Perth land sizes and prices, Gingin was attracting buyers who could snap up 1000sqm blocks for around $200,000.

Approvals for a new shopping centre to be built, in addition to good sporting facilities, were attracting people to the small town, which has a population of about 800 people.

“We’ve got the Tonkin Highway, which gives pretty good access to the airport and the metro area now, so it’s really easy to get there,” Mr Hyne said.

House prices in Gingin have soared 27.4% over the past year to a median $675,000, significantly lower than the Perth median house price of $946,000.

Rounding out the top five growth hotspots for capital city movers included Townsville in Queensland – which remains one of the strongest property markets of the past 12 months.

East Pilbara in Western Australia and Greater Bendigo in Victoria also recorded strong growth in city movers.

City dwellers relocating on the up Australia wide

The Regional Movers Index found 26% more people were relocating from capital cities to regional areas than vice versa.

“Across Australia, this quarterly report shows an overall downturn in movement across the country of 15.2%, which includes capital to capital relocation,” Regional Australia Institute chief executive Liz Ritchie said.

“However, regional Australia is no longer a second choice – it’s the smart choice. From career opportunities to community connection, the regions are delivering.”

When it came to internal migration, Queensland maintained its position as a leading destination, boosting its share of net movement from capital cities to regional areas from 19% in 2023-2024 to 31% in 2024–25.

It is now second only to New South Wales at 34%.

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U.S. Reps. Mike Flood (R-Neb.) and Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) introduced the Streamlining Manufactured Housing Standards Act on Wednesday, which clarifies that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has the sole authority to establish energy efficiency and safety standards for manufactured housing.

“America has been grappling with a housing crisis and cutting red tape is one of the key tools to helping home builders create more housing,” Flood, a member of the House Financial Services Committee and chair of the housing and insurance subcommittee, said in a statement.

“Manufactured homes have historically been built to a HUD code, and in order to make manufactured homes a cost-effective option for consumers, we must ensure that HUD has primary authority over all manufactured housing standards. Thank you to my colleague Rep. Cleaver for helping to lead this effort, and I look forward to working together to move this legislation through our committee and the full House.”

Cleaver said that clarifying HUD’s role in energy standards ensures that federal housing experts oversee quality projects that expand manufactured housing across the country.

Recent data from McKinsey & Co. shows that advancements in technology, data and automation are making it more viable to scale manufactured housing and address the nation’s housing shortage and affordability crisis.

“I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation with Chairman Flood as we seek to lower housing costs by streamlining the regulation of quality, affordable homes in communities that need them most,” Cleaver said.

Lesli Gooch, CEO of the Manufactured Housing Institute, issued a statement of support for the legislation.

“For more than 50 years, our industry has partnered with HUD to help millions of Americans achieve the dream of homeownership,” she said. “The Streamlining Manufactured Housing Standards Act reaffirms HUD’s sole authority over our construction standards, preserving the integrity of this long-standing partnership. Manufactured housing is the only form of housing built to a federal construction code, and we do it at scale — delivering quality homes across the country at attainable prices.

“We commend Chairman Flood and Ranking Member Cleaver for their bipartisan leadership in protecting the regulatory efficiency that is central to this partnership,” Gooch added. “Regulatory efficiency, combined with factory-built efficiency, is the formula that makes manufactured housing the most affordable quality homeownership option available.”

Nejatian has a background as a lawyer, and most recently helped build teams and products at Shopify since 2019. His appointment follows Carrie Wheeler’s resignation last month.

Opendoor Technologies announced Wednesday that it has named Kaz Nejatian, the former chief operating officer of Shopify, as its new CEO. Nejatian will also join Opendoor‘s board of directors as he takes over for Carrie Wheeler, who stepped down last month.

The San Francisco-based iBuyer also announced two other personnel moves as co-founders Keith Rabois and Eric Wu are returning to the company to join the board. Rabois, who will serve as Opendoor’s chairman, is the managing director at Khosla Ventures. Wu left Opendoor at the end of 2023 and went on to found NavigateAI.

Opendoor’s press release also noted that Eric Feder will retain his role as lead independent director of the board.

“Rabois and Wu, who co-founded Opendoor in 2013, will inject the ‘founder DNA’ and energy at a pivotal moment for Opendoor. They are passionate about our community and we’re excited to welcome them back to the Board,” Feder said in a statement.

Nejatian, who has prior experience as an attorney, entrepreneur and product leader, also has experience using artificial intelligence to scale products, teams and companies. He’s been at Shopify since 2019, where he helped to build teams and products for the e-commerce platform.

“It’s a privilege to become Opendoor’s leader,” Nejatian said. “Few life events are as important as buying or selling a home. With AI, we have the tools to make that experience radically simpler, faster, and more certain. That’s the future we’re building.”

“Literally there was only one choice for the job: Kaz. I am thrilled that he will be serving as CEO of Opendoor,” Rabois added. “He is a decisive leader who has driven product innovation at scale, ruthlessly reduced G&A expenses to drive profitability and deeply understands the potential for AI to radically reshape a company’s entire operations.”

Coinciding with the appointments of Rabois and Wu to the board, Opendoor announced that Pueo Keffer and Glenn Solomon have left their positions.

“We are grateful to Pueo and Glenn for their many contributions to the company and their dedication to Opendoor and our shareholders,” Feder said.

Wheeler‘s departure was not a surprise as she reportedly approached the board in mid-2025 about a succession plan. When she stepped down in August, the company appointed Shrisha Radhakrishna as president and interim leader. Wheeler agreed to serve as an adviser to the board through the end of this year, according to 8-K filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Her exit came shortly after Opendoor’s stock went for a wild ride. It surged in July after being promoted by meme stock subreddits and other social media operatives.

On July 21, Opendoor shares were trading for $3.31, up 429% in a single week. But only two days later, the price had fallen to a low point of $2.05 — down nearly 50% in just a few hours of trading. But it’s taken off again since then and was priced at more than $8 during after-hours trading on Wednesday.

23 Merton St, Albert Park, sold under the hammer on the weekend.

A cracked wall and other structural issues did not deter buyers from an Albert Park terrace house that sold almost $500,000 above reserve on Saturday.

The Victorian-era, five-bedroom home at 23 Merton St had been owned by the same family for 57 years.

The Agency Victoria property partner Jim Christou, who had the listing alongside colleague Con Kokoras, said six bidders registered for the auction but only four had the opportunity to bid.

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Mr Christou said all interested buyers were informed of the home’s structural issues, including a crack in one wall and the balcony needing work.

However, this did not prove much of a hindrance to the sales campaign with more than 100 groups checking out the residence.

The house went under the hammer with a $2.05m-$2.255m range on Saturday.

After 23 bids, it sold for $2.56m, $480,000 above the $2.08m reserve.

“The reserve was met on the third bid,” Mr Christou said.

The listing described the home as a “genuine renovator’s opportunity”.

It’s set on a 191 land parcel.

The buyer, from Sydney, is planning a full renovation and even had their architect inspect the property pre-auction.

“They’re planning on either doing it up as a family home or possibly renting it out,” Mr Christou said.

The house, featuring a brick facade and fireplaces, is an 80m walk to Albert Park Village, 110m to the nearest tram route and about 900m to the beach.

Mr Christou said the vendors were thrilled with the auction result.

“They bought it in the late 1960s, raised a family there and then had it as a rental property from the 1990s or so,” he said.

4 Fernly Court, Wheelers Hill, also sold on Saturday.

Another house that soared above expectations on the weekend was 4 Fernly Court, Wheelers Hill.

The four-bedroom home, listed with a $1.1m-$1.2m range, fetched $1.431m under the hammer.

Five bidders took part in the auction Queensland buyer Shobha Reddy triumphed, while on the phone to a family friend bidding on her behalf.

The kitchen features a four-burner gas cooktop by Modern Maid and a Westinghouse electric oven.

Ms Reddy, who is currently based in Brisbane, is considering moving back to Melbourne after 15 years up north.

“I feel good about today’s auction – it was a big decision,” she said.

“We have been active in the property market for some time and have been involved in a few auctions in the past, so we knew how the process worked.”

Ray White’s Cristine Jones said the auction was “ballistic”.

Set on a 654sq m block, the property has a pergola, double carport, garden shed and water tank.

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