One in five Aussies looking to buy interstate

A fifth of Australians looking to move are searching for interstate properties, according to new data.

Proptrack economist Eleanor Creagh revealed that a growing proportion of the population is being lured by a change of scenery in the property portal’s latest weekly economic update.

“Property seekers based in a different state to the one they were looking to buy in shows 1 in 5 Aussies are enquiring on property listed for sale in another state,” she said.

In the 12 months to August 2024, 22% of all enquiries to purchase property on realestate.com.au came from buyers based in a different state.

In the previous 12 months, that number stood at 17% of all enquiries.

The Northern Territory, Tasmania and the ACT are the states with highest share of enquiry coming from interstate.

“Strong rental yields and affordability also make the NT market attractive to interstate investors,” the senior economist said.

“South Australians are leading the charge and account for close to 60% of interstate enquiry for properties in the NT.”

The NT is closely followed by Tasmania and the ACT where enquiries made by interstate buyers account for 70% and 69% respectively.

“As the least affordable state, it is unsurprising NSW is the least popular state in terms of buy enquiries from property seekers based in a different state,” she said.

That’s partly because NSW has the highest population of any state, but also makes sense as NSW is the most expensive state.

The proportion of enquiries from NSW into both Queensland and WA has jumped significantly in the past year, where the shares were 47% and 32%.

WA has seen the most significant uplift with a 17-percentage point increase in the share of enquiry coming from NSW. Of all the states, WA has also seen the share of enquiry from other states increase the most in the past year.

“This is testament to the strength in conditions in WA’s housing market, which has led the nation over the past year,” she said.

“Home prices in Perth have increased more than 20% in the past 12 months, and in Perth’s northwest values have risen close to 30%. Clearly this surge in values is attracting interest from other states.”