Tim is one of many Aussies ditching the country’s capital cities in search of cheaper living in the regions. (Source: Supplied/Getty)
Australians are ditching capital cities in the hopes of finding cheaper living in the regions. With property prices skyrocketing in recent years, along with rent, iced lattes at your local cafe, pints and schnitties at your local pub, and other expenses, living in a capital city has become too much for some.
A poll of 1,300 Yahoo Finance readers found 75 per cent said they would settle somewhere regionally to save money, and it seems like many are making good on that pledge. Removalist company Muval recently revealed that every single state and territory has seen more people moving out of the city and into the regions than the other way around.
But Ray White chief economist, Nerida Conisbee, told Yahoo Finance this is having a big effect on property prices.
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“People move to regional areas to get more affordable housing. The problem is that they often have to be within a reasonable commuting distance to a capital city for work,” she said.
“As a result, we’ve seen places like the NSW Central Coast and Wollongong do really well.
“If you look at Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, they’ve done really well, and they are getting really expensive.”
Have you moved from a city to a regional area and want to tell your story? Email stew.perrie@yahooinc.com
Wollongong’s median house price has shot up nearly 5 per cent in the last 12 months to sit at $1,269,000.
Meanwhile, the Gold Coast has seen a 9 per cent lift in its median house price since last year, and was the only regional market in Australia where prices beat its capital.
Conisbee said before the pandemic, that price was around the $700,000 mark.
“It’s a challenge because one way to get affordable housing in the past was to just move a little bit out of your capital city. But it’s no longer as easy to do that,” she told Yahoo Finance.
Tim Abbott was doing well for himself in Sydney, but felt he wouldn’t be able to buy a home in the country’s most expensive capital city for property for at least half a decade.
He decided to take a “financial gap year” and moved to a tiny regional area about 700 kilometres from Brisbane.
The 31-year-old told Yahoo Finance that while his social life has taken a huge nosedive, his finances have never been better.
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Tim traded his desk job for a physically demanding role in rural Queensland and has been blown away by how much money he’s been able to save. (Source: Supplied)
“It has just been a game changer for my money that’s coming in,” he said. “Last month, I only spent $220.”
Abbott reckons he’s been able to save around 90 to 95 per cent of his pay so far, and believes he’ll hit his goal of pocketing $100,000 within the year.
He encouraged others to look at the regions if they wanted a bit more breathing room, both financially and spatially.
“If anyone else was thinking about doing this, or working remotely for a year, I couldn’t recommend it more highly,” he said.
According to Muval, Darwin has witnessed the biggest exodus compared to every other capital city in the country.
The Top End city had an inbound-outbound ratio of 0.72, which meant that for every 100 people leaving Darwin, only 72 were moving in.
The removalists revealed the 10 places seeing people leave in their droves:
Darwin: Inbound-outbound ratio of 0.72
Brisbane Inner City: 0.74
Sydney – City and Inner South: 0.76
Cairns: 0.80
South Australia – Outback: 0.81
Brisbane – West: 0.82
Sydney – Eastern Suburbs: 0.83
Townsville: 0.84
Brisbane – North: 0.86
Perth – Inner: 0.86
Muval revealed people are heading anywhere but a capital city:
Conisbee predicted the mining sector was to blame for regional WA taking the top spot.
While many mining workers will fly in and out of Perth for their jobs, there are many sites and projects promising big salaries if they move to a regional area permanently.
The biggest driver for people to escape a capital city was upgrading to a better home, with 34.7 per cent saying that was their main reason.
Ray White’s Nerida Conisbee said both parties have pitched policies that sound good on the surface, but they might not fix the actual problem. (Source: Supplied)
This was followed by wanting to reduce the cost of living (32 per cent), needing more space (24.5 per cent), seeking a better lifestyle (19.8 per cent), downsizing (18.3 per cent), and seeking more affordable housing (14.6 per cent).
“The 2025 Muval Index gives us a real-time lens into how Australians are responding to the pressures and possibilities of a changing world,” Muval CEO James Morrell said.
“We’re seeing clear signs that affordability, flexibility and quality of life are reshaping how people choose where to live, and that trend isn’t slowing down.”
Consibee said while you might be able to access cheaper property or rent prices, it’s worth remembering the potential downside of moving regionally.
“You might not have the amenities that you’re used to living in a bigger city,” she told Yahoo Finance.
“This can be as simple as supermarkets not being open as much, or not having as much choice.
“It can also be a little bit more expensive to access health services. Trying to find a GP or get into a hospital can be quite challenging because they don’t have the range that is typically available in a bigger city.”
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