Geraldton ranked as the top affordable lifestyle location in Australia in Hotspotting’s top-10 list

The secret is out — Geraldton is the place to be after coming first in a top 10 list of affordable lifestyle locations in Australia, according to new research.

Property trends and insights service Hotspotting has released its Exodus to Affordable Lifestyle report, which lists the country’s top 10 locations people are moving to for a more affordable way of life.

With regional markets dominating the top 10 ever since the report began five years ago, Geraldton has come out on top this year.

Hotspotting managing director and report writer Terry Ryder said the report was started to track the mass exodus of people moving away from metropolitan areas.

“It’s a report we started a few years ago in response to the emerging trend where more and more people are leaving the big cities and relocating to regional areas or smaller capital cities,” he said.

“For lifestyle or affordability, enabled by technology which means more and more people can work remotely.”

The report dismantles the misconception that you have to buy in a big city to get the best capital growth, as the top 10 shows how regional markets have been consistently outperforming cities.

“For the past several years regional markets have been outperforming capital city markets on price growth in percentage terms,” Mr Ryder said.

“We still have areas that are providing strong growth and getting strong demand, including Geraldton that seems to be attracting a lot of investor buyers, as well as lifestyle buyers.”

Mr Ryder said Geraldton was the top choice for this year as it offered similar quality houses to the metro area at a fraction of the price, with the coastal lifestyle of the Mid West hub seen as a major positive.

“It is a judgment call that I make based on my knowledge of markets around the country and factors that drive price growth that create what we call hotspot areas that are likely to outperform the general market in terms of growth and prices,” he said.

“Geraldton, from my viewpoint, fits the bill pretty well. It offers lifestyle and affordability . . . people can buy a home of similar quality and maybe half the price in a targeted regional area.”

Mr Ryder said Geraldton had been quietly performing well for the past few years and investors were starting to notice the opportunity it provided.

“It’s got an economy which is strong and with potential to show growth based on the number of significant investment proposals that are sort of targeted on Geraldton,” he said.

Geraldton also featured in the top 10 last year. The only other WA location in this year’s top 10 is Mandurah, which came in fifth.

TOP 10 AFFORDABLE LIFESTYLE LOCATIONS

Geraldton, WA

Toowoomba, Qld

Murray Bridge, SA

Gladstone, Qld

Mandurah, WA

Hunter Valley, NSW

Mitchell Shire, Victoria

Mount Gambier, SA

Cairns, Qld

Lockyer Valley, Qld

Source: Hotspotting