Nerida Conisbee, Ray White’s chief economist, looked at population growth per year during the pandemic (2019 to 2021) and compared it to the long-term average between 2001 and 2021 to identify the areas that have experienced the strongest growth during the pandemic, compared to historical figures.
Geelong’s population has grown by 7,157 every year since March 2020, which is a significant increase from its usual influx of 5,000 people a year.
Next was the Hunter Valley (not including Newcastle), which has seen an average of 5,280 new residents each year since COVID-19 hit, down from 3,630. Ms Conisbee explained that, along with Geelong’s figures, largely by a move towards remote working, but it also attributed the regions value for money – house hunters looking for more space found they could get it more affordably in these locations. , unlike capitals.
Yet many movers did not want to end up too far from metropolitan centers.
“The majority of major pandemic growth regions were either outer suburbs of capitals or areas close to capitals,” Ms. Conisbee noted.
For every rule, however, there is an exception: an outlier was the Murray region of New South Wales, where population growth recently more than doubled the long-term average, especially in towns like Albury, Hay and Deniliquin, neither of which is inside. commuting distance to any capital city.
“It is likely that the popularity of this area is partly due to a change in lifestyle, but also to certain exceptional agricultural conditions that have been seen over the past two years,” Ms. Conisbee explained.
The question on many industry insiders’ mouths now is whether this population growth will continue on its current trajectory, especially as many real estate networks have expanded their regional offerings to accommodate the influx of new regional residents.
Ms. Conisbee thinks the coming factors could actually accelerate the rate of expansion in the regions.
“It is possible that many of these areas will experience even greater population growth over the next 12 months. International borders are open again, meaning migration to Australia is starting again. The momentum in many of these areas should continue,” she said.
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