These under-the-radar regions are drawing city dwellers in droves

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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