Record Numbers of Melburnians Are Moving to the Regions. What Should You Know Before You Do the Same?

New data released this week shows capital city residents left for regional Australia in numbers that equalled the strongest June quarter on record, matching the pandemic era peak of 2021. The Regional Movers Index, produced jointly by the Commonwealth Bank and the Regional Australia Institute, found that people moving from a capital city to a regional area outnumbered those moving the other way by 30 per cent.

For Melbourne readers, this is not an abstract national trend. Melbourne accounted for 36 per cent of all capital city outflows in the quarter, behind only Sydney on 52 per cent. Regional Victoria took in 26 per cent of the net inflow, second only to regional New South Wales on 33 per cent. Central Goldfields, in Victoria's central west, was named the fastest growing regional destination in the country.

Why this is happening now

The Regional Movers Index doesn't point to a single cause, and we would be guessing if we claimed otherwise. RAI chief executive Liz Ritchie put the result down to the ongoing appeal of country living, noting it held up even through the cooler winter months when relocations usually slow. CBA's regional banking lead, Kylie Allen, pointed to people looking further afield for housing, work and lifestyle as regional centres keep growing and push new arrivals into the surrounding towns.

What we can say with more confidence is that the economics have shifted. Separate Cotality data released around the same time shows regional dwelling values rose approximately 5.6 per cent over the year to September, while combined capital city values fell 1.8 per cent over the same period. Property that once looked like the cheaper option outside the city is, in a growing number of regional areas, now appreciating faster than property inside it.

What this means if you are weighing up a move

If a move to the regions is on your radar, a few things are worth thinking through with a broker rather than assuming they will sort themselves out.

Borrowing capacity does not automatically go further once you leave the city. Lenders still assess your income, expenses and existing debts the same way wherever the property sits, and the official buffer they apply when testing whether you could handle a rate rise, three percentage points above the loan rate, does not change based on postcode. A cheaper purchase price helps, but only if your income and expenses still line up the way a lender needs them to.

Valuations can also behave differently in smaller regional markets. Where a city suburb might have dozens of comparable recent sales to draw on, a regional town can have far fewer, which sometimes means more conservative bank valuations or a wider gap between what a seller expects and what a lender's valuer puts on paper. It is worth having that conversation with your broker before you fall in love with a particular property.

And growing demand for a region does not mean every part of it is free of risk. Coverage of the same CBA and RAI data noted a sharp rise in mortgage stress in at least one regional postcode, Cairns' Manunda, a reminder that a popular region can still contain pockets doing it tough. None of this is a reason to rule a regional move out. It is a reason to go in with the numbers checked, rather than relying on the general assumption that regional automatically means cheaper and safer.

If you are thinking about making the move

Whether you are a first home buyer priced out of Melbourne, an upgrader chasing more land, or simply ready for a change, the mechanics of borrowing for a regional purchase are different enough from a standard metro purchase that it is worth a proper conversation before you start inspecting. At Claremont Financial we can walk through how a particular region or postcode is likely to be treated by different lenders, and what your borrowing power actually looks like once a real property and a real postcode are on the table.

Figures in this article are drawn from the Regional Movers Index, June quarter 2026 (Commonwealth Bank and Regional Australia Institute, released 19 October 2026), and from Cotality Home Value Index data as reported in coverage of that release. The APRA serviceability buffer of 3 percentage points was confirmed current as at October 2026.

This article is general information only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Please speak with a Claremont Financial broker before making any borrowing decision.