According to CoreLogic research analyst Cameron Kusher, the increase in values for both houses and units in Illawarra could be attributed to buyers who had been priced out of the Sydney market and are now diverting their investment dollars to this region.
In Queensland, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast ended up as the strongest performing regions across the state, with both house and unit values increasing.
On the other hand, sales activity in Victoria’s Geelong and Latrobe-Gippsland dropped by 2% over the year, though their median values and rental rates increased.
Mixed performance was seen in Western Australia’s Bunbury region, with house values rising by 3% and unit values falling by 6%.
The only regional market to record a fall in values is Townsville, where houses dropped by 4.5% and units fell by 3.7%.
“Our latest data points to an increase of value growth in regional markets, particularly those which are located adjacent to capital cities,” said Kusher.
“As people are priced out of certain capital cities, buyers now appear to be looking to these adjacent regions.”
