Regional city rockets to top of movers’ lists with waterside living and capital convenience

Once an industrial port, Greater Geelong is now Victoria’s fastest-growing regional hub, and its transformation is hard to miss.

With its UNESCO “City of Design” status, proximity and accessibility to Melbourne, and enviable position between bay and surf coast, Geelong is shedding its industrial past and emerging as a lifestyle magnet in its own right.

“Geelong is leading the nation as the most popular regional place to move to, pipping the Sunshine Coast this year,” said Greater Geelong mayor Stretch Kontelj OAM.

In May 2025, the Regional Australia Institute’s Regional Movers Index confirmed that Greater Geelong is now Australia’s most popular regional destination for movers, overtaking the Sunshine Coast after two years at the top.

In Mr Kontelj’s eyes, it all adds up.

“We’ve got the winning formula for liveability, proximity to Melbourne, world-class education and healthcare, affordable coastal and urban lifestyle choices, and booming industries to let people work where they live.”

Population and growth

The momentum is underpinned by sheer numbers. Greater Geelong’s population currently sits at about 299,700 and is forecast to reach 441,900 by 2041. That equates to more than 9,200 new residents arriving annually, making Geelong the fastest-growing regional city in Victoria and outpacing peers like Bendigo and Ballarat.

Accommodating this demand will require 83,000 new homes by 2041, averaging nearly 5,200 dwellings each year. Much of this will be absorbed by new master-planned communities across the municipality.

According to RPM Group’s general manager of research and data, Michael Staedler, the affordability factor is playing a big part in attracting new residents.

“In Greater Geelong’s new land market, first home buyers remain dominant, supported by accessible price points. Over the past year, substantial incentives and rebates have also enabled budget-conscious buyers to enter the market.”

At the same time, Greater Geelong’s momentum is also attracting investors, with rental yields above 4% in Armstrong Creek, in the region’s south, far outpacing Melbourne’s average of 3.3%.

Armstrong Creek is the beating heart of today’s expansion, gazetted in February 2012 as part of the Armstrong Creek Growth Area. Just 10km from the centre of Geelong, it’s even closer to some of the most iconic beaches of the surf coast, offering the chance to live in equal proximity to city and sand.

Here, landmark new communities are taking shape. More to the north, new estates The Reserve and Glenlee offer modern living close to schools and parks.

Ashbury and Stockland Banksia – both off Boundary Road – boast great convenience, as does Palomino, situated nearby.

There are also land options continuing to become available in Warralily, one of Armstrong Creek’s largest and most established neighbourhoods.

Meanwhile, Harriott (by Jinding) is also already home to 1,000 residents, with new parklands, fitness trails, and wetlands on residents’ doorstep.

Jinding’s national development director Chris Ravat says demand has been strong.

“Many of our buyers come to us craving a change in lifestyle and a desire to move out of Melbourne, while many others are locals upgrading their homes. It offers the best of both worlds: coastal lifestyle and city connectivity.”

Residents Adam and Leanne Phillips, recent movers from Wodonga, agree.

“Harriott feels very natural, coastal, quiet and we love the location – central to Barwon Heads, Torquay and Geelong and still close to Melbourne.”

Lifestyle and identity

For all the numbers, what makes Geelong distinctive is its character. Louise Johnson, a long-time academic and now Honorary Professor at Deakin University, has studied Geelong’s resilience and growth for decades.

“While accessibility has made Geelong closer to Melbourne, it still sees itself as separate. Geelong has a strong pride of place. A city with its own identity, history and footy club! Part of the appeal is that it’s not Melbourne which, for many, has become too big, too expensive, too crowded.”

In 2017 that sense of identity was reinforced when Geelong became Australia’s first and only UNESCO City of Design, a title that continues to guide its urban renewal.

Little Malop Street has emerged as a vibrant hospitality and arts precinct, with the Geelong Gallery and a wave of performance and design spaces bringing a new buzz to the area. Deakin University, with its major campus anchoring the city’s knowledge and innovation economy, has also been central to Geelong’s transformation.

The change is perhaps most visible along the waterfront. In the 1980s, Geelong’s bayfront was dominated by derelict wool stores and industrial buildings.

“The city had turned its back on the waterfront,” said Ms Johnson. Today, it has been reimagined as a destination of promenades, piers, and parklands that attract families, visitors, and investors alike.

What’s next: Northern and western growth

While Armstrong Creek will continue to be a centre of activity for new housing in the region, the Northern and Western Geelong Growth Areas represent the next wave. Together, they have capacity to accommodate more than 100,000 new residents, making them the largest greenfield planning project in regional Victoria.

The Northern corridor will feature neighbourhoods with panoramic views of the You Yangs and Corio Bay, while the Western area will build around waterways and open space, strengthening Geelong’s identity as a city built around water.

A boomtown with heart

Greater Geelong has arrived at a remarkable moment, evolving in considered and sustainable ways with some of the most exciting residential growth in the country.

From Armstrong Creek today to the Northern and Western corridors tomorrow, it is balancing the best of urban lifestyle with its unique regional and coastal identity.

“The City of Greater Geelong has the responsibility of managing this growth with carefully considered planning that maintains what our community loves: open spaces, nature, sporting fields and community infrastructure,” said Mr Kontelj.

For residents and investors alike, this is Greater Geelong’s moment of momentum.

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