Fresh Air, No Traffic Jams, and More Affordable Home Prices.
There’s plenty of appeal in regional living, including the potential to reduce your home loan significantly. The classic tune “Home Among the Gum Trees” is fast becoming a lifestyle anthem for a growing number of Aussies. A surging number of city-slickers are heading to the bush or bay, according to new research from Commonwealth Bank.
In fact, metro to regional relocations are now 20% higher than pre-Covid, showing that regional towns and cities have a lot to offer.
What’s the Appeal?
Along with a laid-back lifestyle and the chance to see kangaroos on your way to work instead of countless sets of traffic lights, a key drawcard of regional living is more affordable housing.
Where Are People Moving?
The Sunshine Coast in South East Queensland is the nation’s most popular destination for Australian movers, securing a 16% share of net internal migration over the past 12 months. Other popular areas outside our nation’s capital cities include:
- Gold Coast
- Wollongong
- Newcastle
- Lake Macquarie
- Moorabool
- Geelong
- Alexandrina region
- Fraser Coast
- Launceston
Western Australia is also becoming an increasingly attractive destination with Busselton, Capel, Greater Geraldton, Northam, and Albany all making their way onto various hotspot lists this quarter.
Regional Home Values vs. City Prices.
Across Australia’s capital cities, the median home value is about $864,780, according to CoreLogic. By comparison, the median value across regional markets is $626,888, a whopping $237,892 difference. This price gap can be far bigger depending on where you’re moving from and moving to. For instance, in Sydney, the median house value is $1,441,957, while in regional NSW, it could be closer to $760,000 – a saving of around $680,000!
Regional Living Can Help Cut Loan Repayments.
Buying a more affordable home can have other benefits such as a lower stamp duty bill. It can also significantly impact home loan repayments.
Consider this:
- City Home: $864,780 with a 20% deposit ($173,000) and a loan rate of 6.4% over 30 years results in a mortgage of about $692,000 and monthly repayments around $4,329.
- Regional Home: $626,888 with the same 20% deposit ($173,000) results in a mortgage of about $454,000 and monthly repayments around $2,840.
That’s a monthly saving of $1,489 by moving to a regional area – extra money to spend on your home, yourself, or your lifestyle.
What About Capital Growth?
While no one can predict property values with certainty, we can look at past performance. CoreLogic says values in regional areas have jumped 51.1% ($212,000) nationally since March 2020, compared to an average of 31.5% ($207,000) across our state capitals. So in terms of dollar values, the capital gains across both markets have been fairly similar in recent years.
Ready for Your Home Among the Gum Trees?
Okay, regional living isn’t for everyone. Even for committed fans, moving from a capital city to a regional area calls for careful planning and research.
But if you’re hankering for a home with a more manageable mortgage, give me a call today to discuss loan options that could help you get that tree or sea change happening sooner.
Let’s make your dream of a regional lifestyle a reality!
0447654321
