Australians are continuing to swap city life for the coast, with fresh PropTrack data showing a wave of demand for regional beachside suburbs – and creating new business for mortgage brokers as buyers chase relative affordability outside the capitals.
That sea‑change trend is feeding into stronger price growth in many regional markets than in the major cities, as sustained demand and tight stock in lifestyle hubs push more borrowers toward coastal and nearby regional areas.
The PropTrack analysis ranks coastal suburbs by the average number of high‑intent enquiries per listing on realestate.com.au – actions like emailing an agent, calling, or downloading documents. A high enquiry count signals strong buyer demand, and when stock can’t keep up, prices tend to move higher as competition intensifies.
Many of the most in‑demand suburbs sit just a few hours from the capitals, often in larger regional centres with solid job bases or within commuting distance.
In Queensland, the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast remain magnets for city buyers, but more affordable coastal centres like Mackay and Gladstone – where median house prices sit below $650,000 – are also seeing intense enquiry, giving brokers a pipeline of first-home and upgrader clients still within reach of the beach.
In Victoria, several Geelong-region suburbs top the list for enquiries per listing. Newcomb’s typical house value is just over $600,000, and local director Jess Templeton says investors are paying attention.
“Victoria at the moment has been pinpointed for a lot of growth,” Templeton told realestate.com.au. “A lot of the buyers are coming to the Geelong market because they’ve been priced out of Melbourne.” Neighbouring East Geelong is more tightly held and dominated by owner‑occupiers, attracted by “a lot of character homes, nice trendy cafes and… a good lifestyle”.
In regional NSW, Port Kembla has overtaken Byron Bay and Tweed Heads for enquiry, driven by relative affordability, lifestyle and changing demographics.
“There are a lot of buyers moving from Sydney’s inner west,” said local agent Mitchell Walkerden. “Port Kembla shares a similar culture and community vibe.”
With industrial land being transformed into a high‑tech employment hub and the median house price up 14% in a year, he expects “Port Kembla to continue to grow in value and at a faster rate than the majority of suburbs in the Illawarra.”
On WA’s south‑west coast, Quindalup, Busselton and Dunsborough are drawing Perth buyers, interstate migrants and expats.
“We’re like the Byron Bay of WA,” said Realmark Dunsborough director Julie Fairclough. “It’s a lot quieter and the beaches are insanely beautiful, but it's getting busier and busier.”
For brokers, these coastal shifts point to growing demand for pre-approvals, refinance and investment lending in regional lifestyle markets, particularly where prices are still below capital-city beachside levels but enquiry is surging. New ABS data backs this trend, with first-home buyer loans jumping 6.8% in the December quarter 2025 and other owner-occupier and investor lending also rising.
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