Queenslanders already claiming victory over NSW – in the migration score
New Australian Bureau of Statistics data confirmed the Sunshine State has bragging rights with want homeowners flocking to Queensland.
WITH the State of Origin decider looming, Queenslanders are already declaring themselves the real winners – not so much on the footy field, but in the lifestyle stakes.
New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics confirmed the Sunshine State has bragging rights with want home owners flocking to Queensland.
Analysis by the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ), showed Queensland welcomed 25,940 people through interstate migration in 2024.
New South Wales lost 28,118.
Around 18,000 of those who left NSW and ended up north of the border.
“It seems when it comes to Queensland’s lifestyle, the Blues are turning green with envy,” REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella said.
“Whether you bleed blue or maroon, the scoreboard doesn’t lie… people are voting with their feet, and they’re moving to Queensland.”
Ms Mercorella said Queensland’s liveability, affordability and economic strength made it a clear migration favourite, with demand rising not just in Brisbane, but across the state.
In the final quarter of 2024, more interstate arrivals moved to regional Queensland (4,317) than Brisbane (3,285), driven by affordability, lifestyle, and more space.
“Queensland is absolutely in its prime,” she said.
The latest economic data backs up the bragging rights.
Queensland’s State Final Demand rose by 0.7 per cent in the March 2025 quarter, while New South Wales went backwards, falling by 0.1 per cent.
Since 1989–90, Queensland’s economy has grown by an average of 3.6 per cent annually, compared with New South Wales’ 2.4 per cent.
Meanwhile, investors are also catching on.
Westpac lending data shows nearly one in four Queensland investment properties are now being snapped up by New South Wales buyers, chasing higher yields and cheaper prices.
By contrast, Queenslanders are staying put – with just one per cent of NSW investment properties purchased by Queenslanders.
“Everyone wants a slice of Sunshine State property,” Ms Mercorella said.
Queensland also recorded the highest growth in investor loans of any state in the year to March 2025 – up 24 per cent, compared with 19 per cent in New South Wales.
But with population growth of 1.9 per cent – well ahead of NSW’s 1.3 per cent – Ms Mercorella warned that without a ramp-up in housing supply, Queensland risks turning a win into a loss.
