Gympie, Wingecarribee, Richmond Valley and East Gippsland now hotspots for tree-changers

Four regional zones have emerged as newly dominant destinations for Aussies chasing an idyllic country life.

Gympie in Queensland, Richmond Valley and Wingecarribee in NSW, and East Gippsland in Victoria have all made their debuts as hotspots.

Wingecarribee Shire in the NSW Southern Highlands has clocked the biggest annual boom in internal migration of any area in Australia.

It has never before experienced such a volume of new residents, who flocked from capital cities and other regional pockets over the three months to December, data shows.

Wingecarribee, about 110 kilometres south-west of Sydney, includes the towns of Bowral, Moss Vale and Mittagong, and at least two dozen smaller villages.

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120 Old Maryborough Road, Gympie QLD 4570

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Net migration to Wingecarribee’s hamlets has jumped 285 per cent over the past 12 months, according to new figures from the latest Regional Movers Index compiled by the Regional Australia Institute and Commonwealth Bank.

This was followed by Richmond Valley in northern NSW, Albany at the southern tip of Western Australia, Bega Valley on the south-east coast of NSW, and the Victoria-NSW border city of Wodonga.

Bega Valley, which takes in the oceanside havens of Pambula and Merimbula, is the only location to have previously made the top five for growth.

When measured by the influx of regional-to-regional movers only, Gympie, a city north of Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, debuted in the top five.

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The port city of Bunbury in Western Australia is the most highly sought-after spot for city folk, holding its position from earlier in 2024.

The movement from the big smoke to regional areas is 32 per cent higher than in the opposite direction, says RAI chief executive Liz Ritchie.

Six in 10 of those making the leap to greener pastures were Sydneysiders.

“When you look at life in a regional location, in some of these new places, be it Gympie or Richmond Valley, it is about quality of life,” Ritchie says.

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“We know people are looking for time and space, and connection to their family and environment.”

The Sunshine Coast has had the lion’s share of movers for more than two years. It again captured the largest portion of internal migration, at 10 per cent.

However, that is a drop of 7.5 per cent compared to 12 months ago, likely due to sharply rising property prices sending buyers farther afield.

“We have heard from constituents who live in this beautiful part of the world that congestion is building up, there are low vacancy rates and higher costs,” Ritchie says.

“That is the nature of locations changing. There are always pros and cons to growth.”

Wingecarribee is where first-home buyers can rub shoulders with some of NSW’s wealthiest acreage owners.

The shire is comparable in size to urban Sydney, providing a variety of price points and property types, with Domain data showing a house price median of $1.1 million.

Stone Real Estate Southern Highland’s George Kolovos has seen the changing of the guard.

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“When I first started selling rural and prestige lifestyle properties, there was almost exclusively a demand from the eastern suburbs and the north shore of Sydney to move here for a weekender, a getaway, or a little equine property,” he says.

“But in recent times, buyers are looking for a lifestyle shift based on value. They don’t want to spend less, but they will take their $3 million or $4 million and buy an acre or a more substantial home, have money for private school fees and trade up in regards to a car.”

Kolovos says flourishing businesses and tech investment are keeping young people in the area instead of forcing them to go to Sydney or Canberra for their careers.

$1,149,000

120 Old Maryborough Road, Gympie QLD 4570

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In Gympie, Professionals Gympie agent Amy Brown says it is rare to have only one offer on a property these days.

“That itself is keeping prices where they are,” she says.

Domain’s median house in Gympie has leapt 10.4 per cent over 12 months to $651,555.

“Anything in town, from $650,000 to $750,000, is the first-buyer bracket and people who are downsizing,” Brown says.

“Lifestyle properties are getting equal interest and those are properties of $900,000 to $1.1 million.

“We are finding Sunshine Coast buyers are retaining their jobs and commuting, mainly because they can afford to purchase a home here, but not where they are originating from.”