Growing pains and gains as regional boom continues | Australian Markets

While the Geelong Cats are fifth on the AFL ladder, their home metropolis is the reigning champion.

The Victorian area has change into the most well-liked place for capital metropolis escapees to settle, with its picturesque shoreline and thriving industry making it an supreme sea-change vacation spot.

Greater Geelong has overtaken Queensland’s Sunshine Coast as the highest area to welcome new residents from the capital cities, adopted by Lake Macquarie, NSW; Moorabool, Victoria; and Maitland, NSW.

The Regional Movers Index, a quarterly report compiled by the Regional Australia Institute utilizing Commonwealth Bank knowledge, additionally exhibits most tree-changers are coming from Sydney and Melbourne.

The price of people shifting to Australia’s areas elevated by more than 10 per cent within the March quarter, in line with the index launched on Wednesday.

The shift to nation life, which accelerated during COVID-19 lockdowns, would solely persist as the areas attracted more consideration and potential investment, Commonwealth Bank govt Josh Foster mentioned.

“They’re idyllic locations to move, whether people want the tree change or the sea change,” Mr Foster instructed AAP.

“I certainly don’t see it going back.”

Greater Geelong is Australia’s largest regional council space, home to more than 282,000 people.

While the area has a vivid future, it’s experiencing important growing pains, in line with the council’s draft five-year plan.

Like most regional areas, Greater Geelong is confronting a housing scarcity, ageing infrastructure and congestion as it expands.

“Greater Geelong is one of Australia’s fastest-growing regions, and managing this expansion will be crucial to our success over the coming decades,” the plan mentioned.

Maitland, within the NSW Hunter Valley, can be experiencing fast growth, attracting new residents from each the capitals and different areas.

It was the most well-liked new home for people shifting from different regional areas within the yr to March, adopted by Greater Geelong and Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Gympie and Fraser Coast.

Maitland, which had a population of 78,000 in 2016, is on observe to exceed 100,000 people by the tip of 2026, with six new residents arriving each day, in line with a council report.

The nation’s regional population sat at 9.91 million and was set to increase, institute chief govt Liz Ritchie mentioned.

“There are big economic gains to be made by supporting, facilitating and nurturing growth across the regions,” Ms Ritchie mentioned.

“Those benefits can only be achieved … by ensuring communities have the infrastructure, facilities, funding and support they need to continue to welcome all those who are actively choosing a regional life.”