Experts say their new research lifts the lid on Australia’s regions and identifies what needs to change. 

A new report - Building the Good Life: Foundations of regional housing (PDF) - is intended to guide the delivery of more affordable and appropriate homes.

“Regional Australia is experiencing a moment in history like no other. In the decade to 2020, its population grew by an average of 76,500 people per annum. A life in the regions is now more attractive than ever before,” says Regional Australia Institute (RAI) CEO Liz Ritchie.

The RAI commissioned the study as part of its Intergovernmental Shared Inquiry Program, which is funded and directed by Commonwealth, State and Territory governments.

“As millions of Australians either choose to stay in the regions, or make the move, this surge in popularity brings with it growing pains that need addressing as we contend with the unique settings facing our regions,” Ms Ritchie says.

The report breaks down the Australian housing market into six different categories - ‘Stalled’ (small, stalled, inland and low-cost, covering 31 LGAs, ‘Volatile’ (small, stalled, low-cost and volatile, covering 23 LGAs), ‘Stable’ (mid-sized, agricultural, covering 157 LGAs), ‘Coastal’ (larger, average cost, covering 58 LGAs), ‘Growth Zone’ (peri-urban, urban, major regional cities, covering 87 LGAs), and ‘Most Expensive’ (Sydney and Melbourne’s combined 40 LGAs). 

“Failure to recognise the distinct regional housing markets in Australia and respond accordingly will see the current pressures continue to escalate,” Ms Ritchie said.

“With the drivers of markets quite different in respective markets, responses need to be calibrated accordingly to ensure they improve the situation.

“If blanket policies are introduced to incentivise new builds within stalled markets (31 inland LGAs) these may also exacerbate land-supply pressures in the more active growth zone markets (87 LGAs).

“Conversely, policies that bring more land to market should help alleviate undersupply in fast-growing regions but will have no impact on low-growth regions where land supply is already plentiful.

“The way forward in Lismore may need to be vastly different to meeting the housing challenges in Byron Bay. Adhering to a ‘one-size-fits-all’ plan could see locals priced out of the market, regional economic growth constrained, a further tightening of the rental market, and/or the most vulnerable in our community bearing the brunt of the housing challenge.

“With more than 84,000 jobs advertised in March 2022 – yet another record broken – regional employers are looking for staff and they need appropriate housing to accommodate them,” Ms Ritchie said.

The research focussed on historic and current housing initiatives domestically, as well as the responses internationally in Scandinavia, the United States, Canada and the British Isles.

“By looking at what has worked overseas, this new research provides a new way forward for Australia and its growing regions,” Ms Ritchie said.

“In the US, failed housing markets have been associated with long term, entrenched disadvantage for more than a century. To ensure our regions can meet their potential – housing must be reassessed,” she said.