Price boom: The five regional areas where house prices are soaring

In growth not seen since the end of the pandemic, Australians in these regional areas are selling their homes for record prices.

Some regional areas in Western Australia and Queensland have experienced particularly strong price growth, according to new data.

Key Points

• Properties in three Western Australian suburbs saw the highest jump in value in the first quarter of 2024.
• Regional areas outperformed capital cities in the three months to April.
• Rent prices have also been affected, with most regional areas seeing rent hikes in 2024.

Property owners in Western Australia are seeing their house values soar to record highs, according to new data.

CoreLogic's latest data, released on Monday, shows that regional house values and rents outperformed capital cities in the first quarter of 2024, jumping 2.1 per cent compared to 1.7 per cent.

Homes along Western Australia's coast increased most in value, with properties in Geraldton up 8.8 per cent, Busselton increasing 7.7 per cent and Bunbury rising by 6.4 per cent in the first quarter.

The April data showed Bunbury also leading in annual growth, with median home prices up about $100,000, or 20.7 per cent, over 12 months.

Credit: SBS News

CoreLogic economist Kaytlin Ezzy said regional markets were experiencing record highs and had recovered following a 5.8 per cent price dip between May 2022 and January 2023.

"Regional home values have seen a slower recovery compared to capital city values but have now regained the losses from the downturn to reach a new record high," Ezzy said.

Townsville, Rockhampton and Gladstone in Queensland were also off to a strong start for the year, recording growth of 5.8 per cent, 5.1 per cent and 4.6 per cent, respectively, in the first three months of 2024.

Gold Coast properties proved the most popular across regional Australia, with 17,986 homes sold in the first quarter, despite prices jumping 12.7 per cent over 12 months.

While Castlemaine in Victoria rounded off the top 10 suburbs for value growth, up 3.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2024, houses in two areas of Victoria became more affordable.

Home values in Portland and Ballarat fell 9.8 per cent and 4.2 per cent, respectively, over 12 months.

Regional rent prices climb

Renting in regional areas is also getting more expensive, with only three of 50 non-capital areas not seeing a price increase this year, according to the CoreLogic data.

Batemans Bay in NSW's south coast had the biggest quarterly rent increase at 6 per cent.

Bunbury in Western Australia, up 4.7 per cent, and Queensland's Sunshine Coast, up 4.4. per cent, round out the top three.

Rents in Bunbury have skyrocketed by 16.4 per cent across the past year.

Only Nowra-Bomaderry, Maryborough and St-Georges Basin-Sanctuary didn't cop a rent increase.

- With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press (AAP).