Escape to the Country or Beach House

They had a chance to escape the cities, and they did!

Sydneysiders and Melbournians escaped the extended lockdowns and moved to green spaces and coastlines. They chose clean air, less congestion, larger property sizes, increased access to an outdoor lifestyle, closer proximity to national parks. The oceans, bays, and beaches motivated a mass exodus of tens of thousands of urban dwellers, as the pandemic accelerated the uptake of online technologies and flexible working arrangements. It is a brand new world, those with highly skilled technologies driven roles who took advantage of this change in mindset and chose to improve their quality of life and make a move now that they can conduct a global career from home.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics says that in March 2021 that 104 100 people moved interstate. We know this figure is higher since the borders opened in December. The trend continued, the latest statistics in June 2021 say that 30,939 people migrated to Queensland, 4,952 Western Australia, 551 to the ACT, 704 to SA, and 51 to Tassie. This influx of people came from NSW - 16,676, VIC - 18,300. Australian Bureau of Statistics Migration Report March 2021 from Australian Capital Cities to Regional areas is up by 5.9%. Australia’s regional residential markets have outpaced capital cities in 12 months.

Sydneysiders and Melburnians escaped the lockdowns, migrated north to the Richmond-Tweed Region, which took the crown for capital gains across the house and unit markets out of Australia’s 25 largest non-capital city markets – with 21.9% and 15.5% annual growth respectively. The big coastal centres close to capital cities continue to attract the largest numbers of metro movers the Gold Coast, where house and unit values rose 16.6% and 11.9%, respectively, while Sunshine Coast house values climbed 17.5% and units were 13.7% higher with house medians in the desirable suburb of Sunshine Beach soaring by 47.6 percent to an astonishing $2.665 million in just 12 months. Toowoomba where residents enjoy, cooler mountain style Queensland living on average 5 degrees cooler, average high of 27 Degrees in February, where the town sits at 691 above sea level, with the new WellCamp complex, International Airport, Football Stadium Site for the Brisbane Olympics, was up 43.3% with median house price of 441,250. It has to be also noted that the Sunshine Coast also has an international airport that opened during the peak of Covid in June 2020 which we are anticipating to become a drawcard for the Australian Expatriate property purchasers.

Lifestyle, lower property prices, and now flexible working arrangements were the main drivers for shifting from the cities to the Regionals Areas. One key driver is that the cost of living is much smaller in regional areas. Regional areas also tend to have fewer inhabitants and are less densely populated than major cities – a potential advantage when trying to avoid contracting the virus. Add to that the general affordability, close-knit community, and all-around quality of life, and there’s an excellent argument for hightailing it out of the city.

Where was the biggest increase of Migration from the Metro Areas to the Regional Areas from?

South Australian local government area (LGA) Limestone Coast On average 5.4 years to save a deposit for a house – +82%
Queensland LGA - Port Douglas and Daintree - On average 6.5 years to save a deposit for a house increased in +77%
South Australian LGA - Port Augusta - 4.1 Years to save a deposit for a house +55%
New South Wales LGA - Moree Plains - 4.3 Years to save a deposit for a house +55%
Queensland LGA - Western Downs - 6.8 Years to save a deposit for a house in QLD +52%

While data isn’t yet available to give us concrete insight into regional migration patterns throughout COVID-19, Medicare will now have the best source of Data due to the National Vaccination Rollout, so much so that the Australian Bureau of Statistics canceled their October Update. There’s anecdotal evidence telling us that more and more people are craving a sea or tree change amid this global catastrophe: there are countless news articles and reports of Aussies flocking to regional areas around the country.

The move makes perfect sense. Despite the fact that several cities have started allowing workers to go back to the office, more employers are offering flexible working conditions, and some have even shut their offices entirely in favour of employees working remotely. Now, people are no longer confined to living within commuting distance of their place of work and can choose to operate from practically anywhere. Australian Expats can now purchase property, site-unseen and can continue global career but do so from a remote beach house or a serene rural estate.

What does it mean for the property market?

Quarantine-free travel is now available to the double-dosed vaccinated. We are predicting that with the international borders opening to international Migration again in February 2022 we will see an increase in migration to Australia, due to our low unemployment rate and it is also seen as a safe place to live, work and raise a family. International Students are arriving to start classes, Australians are free to return home and International Migration to Australia will reduce the supply of houses on the market and increase pressure on housing affordability.

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Escape to the Country! Or Beach House!