Property Investors Look Further Afield For Opportunities
One of the dominant investment trends of 2023 was more East Coast investors buying in Western Australia for affordability and superior returns
3 min
More investors are looking beyond the neighbourhoods they live in for investment opportunities after the pandemic property boom saw regional markets surge in value at a greater pace than the capital cities, as more people who could work from home left the cities for greener pastures.
McGrath Estate Agents CEO John McGrath said this regional relocation of owner-occupiers opened investors’ eyes to markets outside their own neighbourhoods. Changes in marketing and technology brought about due to lockdowns, such as video inspections, online auctions and signing contracts electronically, helped buyers feel more comfortable with purchasing property remotely. “The prospect of phone bidding and purchasing properties sight unseen is no longer foreign,” he said.
Data from MCG Quantity Surveyors proves that investors are exploring new markets for investment. The latest data for 2023 shows the average distance between where landlords live and invest has ballooned to 1,502km, up from 857km in 2022 and 294km before the pandemic.
MCG managing director, Mike Mortlock, said the data revealed two insights. “Firstly, property investors remain agile and will park their capital in whichever investor-friendly national location and asset type offers the greatest possibility of maximising their return,” he said. “The second is that Western Australia has become the centre of Australian property investment. There’s little doubt its popularity with real estate buyers from the East Coast has increased the gap between home and investment.” MCG data shows 31.86% of Australian property investors bought in Western Australia in the first quarter of 2023, up from just 9.38% in the first quarter of 2022, revealing “a seismic shift away from east coast property investment”, he said.
In 2023, CoreLogic data shows Perth and Regional Western Australia delivered the best total returns (rents and capital growth combined) for investors of all capital cities and regional areas in Australia. Perth’s total return was 20.7 percent and regional Western Australia’s was 14.8 percent. The best-performing regions were Mandurah and Bunbury with 20 percent and 15 percent jumps in home values respectively over the year. Rents in Perth and Regional Western Australia also increased faster than any other area in Australia, up by 13.4 percent and 10.4 percent respectively.
One of the main attractions of Western Australia to East Coast investors is affordability. The Perth house price median is $691,100 and the regional house price median is $398,915. McGrath Estate Agents CEO John McGrath said: “This move towards remote investing has largely been driven by the perception of better capital growth prospects in the regions, and higher rental yields that usually come with more affordable properties.” Investors in regional areas can usually afford to buy houses, which typically deliver better capital growth than apartments, and they can buy with smaller loans, meaning they can manage rising interest rates more easily.
PropTrack recently put together a panel of industry experts and asked them to create a list of 100 suburbs that they think will outperform in 2024. PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty said 40 percent of the suburbs selected were in regional areas. PropTrak director of economic research Cameron Kusher said the selected regional areas were typically close to a capital city or had a diversified economy. “These tend to be key drivers in regional markets and reflect our expectations of the types of locations in regional areas likely to see the strongest price growth next year,” he said.
Here are some examples of the regional cities or suburbs tipped for outperformance in 2024.
NSW – Dubbo
Simon Pressley of Propertyology selects Dubbo. “Decades of official evidence supports Dubbo’s status as an extremely resilient and low risk option for property investors with a budget of up to $600,000,” Mr Pressley said.
VIC – Delacombe, Ballarat
Buyers’ agent Kate Hill from Adviseable says Delacombe is a fast-growing part of the Ballarat West Growth Area and offers strong capital growth potential and good yields. “Ballarat was recently identified by the ABS as the fastest growing inland city in Australia and, according to some forecasters, can expect more strong price growth,” she said.
QLD – Darling Heights, Toowoomba
Home to the University of Southern Queensland, Ms Hill says Darling Heights has a range of amenities and will benefit from Toowoomba’s involvement in the 2032 Olympics. “There is a massive program of infrastructure development underway, planning more than $13.1 billion of infrastructure and major projects, both private and public,” Ms Hill said.
SA – Victor Harbor
Mr Pressley says Victor Harbor is to Adelaide what the Sunshine Coast is to Brisbane. “It has one the highest rates of internal migration in the country. Very popular for the one in five Australians who now derive their income from home, and for retirees.”
WA – Mandurah
“Mandurah is the lifestyle capital of Western Australia because of everything it has to offer without the big price tag,” said Ray White Managing Director, Dan White. “When it comes to property, Mandurah offers something for everyone, from affordable options for first-home buyers to upmarket canal homes.”
TAS – Launceston
Mr Pressley says this regional city has a diverse economy and “one of the best lifestyle offerings in all of Australia”. “Over the last 20 years, the average annual capital growth rate for Launceston houses of 8.6 percent is far superior to Sydney and Melbourne. Rental yields are also superior.”
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King Living has unveiled a modular version of its Aura Sofa, bringing greater flexibility to the sculptural design collection as demand grows for furniture that can adapt to changing lifestyles.
2 min
Australian furniture brand King Living has expanded its Aura Collection with the launch of a new modular sofa designed to blend contemporary aesthetics with adaptable living.
The Aura Sofa builds on the success of the Aura Island range, first introduced in 2023, which included indoor and outdoor sofas as well as fixed and swivel occasional chairs.
The latest evolution introduces modular functionality to the collection, allowing homeowners to configure the sofa to suit a variety of spaces and uses.
As living spaces continue to evolve, particularly in urban environments where flexibility is increasingly valued, furniture designers are placing greater emphasis on products that can adapt over time.
King Living says the new Aura Sofa has been developed with this trend in mind, enabling customers to create corner, L-shaped or U-shaped layouts, while also allowing additional modules to be added as needs change.
King Living founder David King said the original Aura concept began as an exploration of sculptural design before being reimagined as a modular system.
“Aura began as an exploration of sculptural form. Now, we’ve brought modularity into that design language, giving the freedom to reimagine your space with a modular design made for flexibility,” he said.
The collection’s defining feature remains its soft, flowing silhouette, with curved forms replacing traditional angular sofa designs.
The company describes the sofa as a response to changing lifestyles, where living rooms increasingly serve multiple purposes, from entertaining guests and family gatherings to quiet reading corners and work-from-home spaces.
Its rounded profile and minimalist aesthetic are intended to enhance the flow of contemporary interiors while maximising available space. According to the company, the design is equally suited to compact apartments and larger open-plan homes.
“Today, living space is both a luxury and a constraint. Aura is our response, a purposeful design that proves when intention and fluidity converge, the result can feel both expansive and refined,” King said.
Beyond aesthetics, the new sofa incorporates several engineering features synonymous with the King Living brand.
These include the company’s Postureflex steel suspension system, extra-high pocket springs and its signature steel frame, which is backed by a 25-year warranty. The company says the design has been engineered to deliver long-term comfort and durability.
Sustainability has also been a focus of the design. Each module features a removable cover that can be professionally cleaned, repaired or replaced individually, reducing the need to replace an entire sofa and potentially extending the product’s lifespan.
The Aura Sofa is available made to order in a range of premium fabrics and European leathers, allowing customers to tailor the piece to different interior styles and colour palettes.
Designed, manufactured and sold exclusively by King Living, the Aura Sofa launched in showrooms and online early this month, marking the latest addition to the Australian company’s growing portfolio of modular furniture designs.
Once a sleepy surf town, Noosa has become Australia’s prestige property hotspot, where multi-million dollar knockdowns, architectural showpieces and record-setting sales are the new normal.
The grand harbourside residence combines sweeping Sydney Heads views, resort-style entertaining and refined designer finishes with a reported $36 million price guide.
