Which regional areas are Australians moving to?

According to Cameron Kusher, research analyst at CoreLogic, a significant amount of those who moved away from a capital city moved to an adjacent area.

“Some of these are coastal/lifestyle markets while also being locations where housing is more affordable.

“There are multiple reasons why we’re seeing more people move to new locations, however, it’s generally for more affordable housing or because they’re looking for a sea change/tree change.”

Here’s a breakdown:

Sydney

Across the most populated state, Sydneysiders were more likely to stay within NSW, with six of the top 10 regionals located in the state, seven if you include the ACT. One Queensland and two Victorian areas remained. The popular regional area was Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, which saw 5,502 Sydneysiders make the move.

Melbourne

Like Sydney, the list for Melbourne was dominated with seven regional Victorian areas, with the rest of the list being populated by two Queensland areas and one ACT area. The most popular regional area was Latrobe-Gippsland at 7,259 Melburnians.

Brisbane

Continuing the trend, Brisbane saw seven out of 10 locations also being based in Queensland. The majority of these seven spots, the Property Pulse noted, are located within the south-east of Queensland. Aside from the seven Queensland spots, Victoria, NSW and the ACT taking the last three remaining spots. The most popular regional area was the Gold Coast at 8,834 Queenslanders.

Adelaide

Reversing the trend, only three areas in South Australia made on the list, all located within the south-east area of the state. Also on the list was three from Victoria, and one each from New South Wales, Queensland, the ACT, and the Northern Territory. The most popular regional area was the south-east region of South Australia at 3,741 Adelaidians.

Perth

Perth saw the top four spots on its list from Western Australia, with then three from Victoria, and one each from Queensland, the ACT and the Northern territory.

“It’s a little surprising that the top destinations for departing residents of Perth are within Western Australia and not interstate,” said Mr Kusher.

The most popular regional area was Bunbury at 4,403 Perthites.

Hobart

Defying the trend of appearing the most or equalling its respective state or territory on the list, only three regional areas for Hobart were on the list, while four were from Victoria, two were from Queensland and one from the ACT. The most popular regional area was south-east Tasmania, which saw 1,077 Tasmanians, which more than doubled the second spot, Launceston and northeast Tasmania at 477.

Darwin

The Northern Territory only saw one spot on the list, which was also its most popular — the outback at 948 Darwinians.

“When Darwin residents move away from the city, the greatest share of them move to other parts of the Territory outside of the capital city,” Mr Kusher said.

“[Queensland] is a popular destination from Darwin residents moving away with 5 of the top 10 regions listed within the state and all except for Ipswich being in coastal locations.

“The top 10 list also includes one region each in Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide as well as the ACT.”

Canberra

Due to the nature of the ACT, there are not any regional areas in Canberra to move to, so the ACT does not appear anywhere in the top 10. Unsurprisingly due to its proximity, NSW dominated the list with seven spots, along with two Victorian regional areas and one Queensland area. The most popular regional area was the capital region of NSW, which saw 3,273 Canberrans.

“Residents of Canberra that leave don’t have the option to move elsewhere within the territory, however a substantial number of them move to the capital region located adjacent in NSW,” Mr Kusher said.