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NSW's Work-From-Home Shift

Hotspotting

Release Date: 02/11/2025

Regional NSW on the Rise as Buyer Demand Picks Up Pace show art Regional NSW on the Rise as Buyer Demand Picks Up Pace

Hotspotting

Is Regional NSW Australia’s next property hotspot? 🏡 Our latest Price Predictor Index reveals a quiet surge in buyer demand across key regional centres — with standout growth in places like Wollongong, Wagga Wagga and Port Macquarie. In this episode, we unpack what’s driving this rising momentum, why some areas are outperforming, and what it means for investors, homeowners and first-time buyers. From lifestyle appeal to affordability advantages, discover which regional markets are heating up — and which are falling flat. 🎧 Tune in to find out where the smart money’s...

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Winter 2025 Price Predictor Index: Australia’s Surprising New Hotspots show art Winter 2025 Price Predictor Index: Australia’s Surprising New Hotspots

Hotspotting

Which property markets are heating up—and which are cooling down? In this episode of The Property Playbook, Tim Graham sits down with Australia’s leading independent property analyst, Terry Ryder of Hotspotting, to unpack the insights from the Winter 2025 edition of the Price Predictor Index. Discover which capital cities and regional areas are showing the strongest buyer demand right now, which markets are entering a second growth wave, and why Sydney has fallen to last place. 🧠 Key Takeaways: How sales activity is a leading indicator of future price growth  Why Darwin has surged...

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Australia’s Land Supply Crisis Intensifies Amid Rising Prices show art Australia’s Land Supply Crisis Intensifies Amid Rising Prices

Hotspotting

Australia’s housing crisis is deepening — but why are land prices still soaring even as sales hit a 25-year low? In this episode, we unpack the latest Residential Land Report, exposing the growing mismatch between demand and supply of shovel-ready land. From skyrocketing prices in Perth to policy inertia in Canberra, we explore what’s fuelling the bottleneck, why the government’s 1.2 million homes target may be wishful thinking, and what it all means for affordability, construction, and first-home buyers. Curious about the real roadblocks to housing in Australia? Tune in. ...

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Why Steady Markets Could Be Your Smartest Investment Yet show art Why Steady Markets Could Be Your Smartest Investment Yet

Hotspotting

Everyone wants growth — but what about consistency? In this episode, we explore a different kind of opportunity: Australia’s most consistent property markets, where buyer demand remains steady quarter after quarter. These are the quiet achievers — suburbs and regions that may not always make headlines but have delivered impressive long-term growth. We highlight: ✅ The top 50 most consistent locations across Australia 📍 Why Kingaroy is now a national standout 📊 How Brisbane, Melbourne, and Regional Queensland are showing strong signs of stability 🏡 The LGAs where demand is...

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Hidden Hotspots Fueling Australia’s Housing Market Growth show art Hidden Hotspots Fueling Australia’s Housing Market Growth

Hotspotting

Think Sydney and Melbourne lead the property market? Think again. In this episode, we reveal the surprising frontrunners from the Winter edition of The Price Predictor Index — and it’s the smaller capitals and regional markets stealing the spotlight. 📍 Darwin tops the list as Australia's hottest market 📈 Hobart is making a powerful comeback 🏡 Regional South Australia and Regional Victoria are quietly outperforming 📉 Meanwhile, Sydney is now the weakest market nationwide We dig into why these shifts are happening, what’s driving demand in unexpected places, and where...

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Why Darwin Is Now the Hottest Property Market in Australia show art Why Darwin Is Now the Hottest Property Market in Australia

Hotspotting

What’s really happening in Australia’s property markets? In this episode, we break down the new Winter edition of the Price Predictor Index — and the results are anything but expected. 🏆 Darwin has skyrocketed to become the hottest market in the country, with sales activity going ballistic. 📈 Hobart is making a strong comeback after a quiet spell. 📉 And Sydney? It's the only capital we’ve labelled a Loser this quarter. We reveal the cities and regions where buyer demand is surging — and where it's slipping — plus the Top 50 Supercharged Suburbs that are primed for growth....

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What’s Really Stopping Homeowners from Downsizing or Upgrading? show art What’s Really Stopping Homeowners from Downsizing or Upgrading?

Hotspotting

Why Moving House Costs More Than You Think Thinking of moving home? It’s not just about finding the right property anymore — the real hurdle is the staggering cost of moving. In cities like Sydney and Melbourne, transaction costs for selling, buying, and relocating now average over $100,000. For many, this financial burden is a major reason they stay put, even when their current home no longer suits their needs. The biggest single cost? Stamp duty — a tax often called the silent killer of housing mobility. Why is this outdated tax still strangling the market, and how could reform unlock...

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Behind the Curtain of Affordable Housing Promises show art Behind the Curtain of Affordable Housing Promises

Hotspotting

Affordable Housing: The Great Political Mirage Politicians love to promise “affordable housing” — but where are the numbers? Behind the headlines and media events, affordable homes remain an elusive dream, buried under soaring land prices, construction costs, and government taxes. From Brisbane’s zoning reforms to Sydney’s grand plans, we unpack why these announcements often fall short of reality. Why is genuine affordability missing from the conversation? And what’s really stopping new homes from becoming truly affordable? Tune in as we cut through the spin and reveal the hard...

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Factors Behind Rising Property Prices show art Factors Behind Rising Property Prices

Hotspotting

Is Australia really heading into the “grandaddy of all property booms” just because of a couple of interest rate cuts? If you believe the headlines, that’s exactly what’s happening. But here’s the problem: those headlines are mostly rubbish. In this episode, we cut through the media hype and take a hard look at what’s really driving property prices – and it’s not interest rates. From shallow journalism to economist echo chambers, we expose the flawed logic behind the property boom narrative and explain why it doesn’t stack up against real data or historical precedent. Join us...

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From Wall Street to Toorak: Luxury Real Estate with Nicholas Brooks | Marshall White Stonnington show art From Wall Street to Toorak: Luxury Real Estate with Nicholas Brooks | Marshall White Stonnington

Hotspotting

How does someone go from trading commodities in New York City to selling some of Melbourne’s most luxurious homes? In this episode of The Property Playbook, host Tim Graham sits down with Nicholas Brooks, Director of Marshall White Stonnington, to explore his unique journey into real estate and what it takes to thrive in the top end of Melbourne’s property market. 🔑 What you'll learn in this episode: Nick’s transition from finance in New York to high-end real estate in Melbourne What makes Stonnington one of Melbourne’s most desirable property regions  The current trends in...

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The trend we have dubbed the Exodus to Affordable Lifestyle is one the key reasons we expect Regional NSW to deliver strong residential property markets in 2025.

 

The trend, of course, is not new – with big cities like Sydney losing population to internal migration for the past 10 years.

 

But the trend remains strong and has not slowed down or reversed, despite forecasts by some economists that there would be a movement of people back to the cities - with big businesses demanding that workers return to the office rather than work remotely.

 

The latest vacancy rate data for office space around Australia shows that the “return to the office” movement is not happening in a major way.

 

The Property Council of Australia, which represents the big end of town including major developers and owners of office buildings, is trying to put a positive spin on it, but the reality is that office vacancies overall are not improving in Australia as the work remotely trend continues to impact the top end office market.

 

The new Property Council report show than more offices were empty across the country in January than six months ago as the work from home trend continues to create headaches for Australia’s big-city landlords.

 

Australia’s office vacancy rate nudged up from 14.6% to 14.7% over the six months to January, the latest figures from the Property Council show. That’s a very small rise – but the expectation was that vacancies would be falling significantly by now, as people move back to the cities and return to the CBD office buildings.

 

In Sydney, home to many finance, insurance and tech workers, the vacancy rate jumped from 11.6% to 12.8%, while the number of empty floors in Melbourne remained unchanged, at a historic high of 18%.

 

Indeed, office vacancy rates are between 9% and 18% in seven of the eight state and territory capital cities. The highest at 18% is Melbourne which is the basket case among the nation’s economies and property markets of all kinds.

 

The Property Council called for “Active leadership” from the Victorian State Government to turn around the fortunes for Melbourne, which has Australia’s second largest CBD, the Property Council says.

 

The AFR reported that major companies last year issued mandates for their staff to return to the office, but these figures show it’s not happening in any major way – and both Melbourne and Sydney continue to have huge vacancies.

 

The movement of people from the biggest cities to regional areas is all about affordability and lifestyle, but enabled by technology which allows more people to work remotely – which is why office vacancies are so high.

 

Sydney, with a median house price around $1.2 million, has been steadily losing population and a proportion of that has been relocating to regional NSW, where the median house price is about $750,000 and plenty of regional cities and towns have houses on offer for less than $500,000.

 

This is a key reason why Regional NSW outperformed Sydney on price growth recently. In the past 12 months Sydney’s median prices have risen 1.9% for houses and 1.1% for units, while Regional NSW has managed 3% for both houses and units – with a number of individual regional markets doing considerably better than those averages.

 

Many suburbs of Wollongong have increased 7-9%, and a number of Newcastle suburbs have recorded double-digit growth in their median house prices, as have some of the Albury locations and several of the suburbs of Tamworth.

 

A recent analysis conducted by Hotspotting ranked the eight capital cities and six state regional markets – a total of 14 major jurisdictions – from 1 to 14 based on a series of different metrics and Regional NSW ranked 6th out of 14 for price growth prospects in 2025.

 

At Hotspotting, we expect 2025 to be a solid year overall in Regional NSW markets – but you need to see our Top 5 Regional NSW Hotspots report to find out which locations will perform the best and out-perform market norms – this year and beyond.