Aussie lifestyle shuffle: buyers ghost expensive hotspots

Lifestyle markets are regional areas where buyers prioritise scenery, recreation, and quality of life over purely economic factors. These destinations attract people seeking coastal towns, wine regions, mountain retreats, or cultural hubs that offer benefits often unavailable in major cities.

NSW and Victoria are home to the most popular lifestyle markets due to their proximity to Sydney and Melbourne, combined with natural diversity and longer settlement history. As they become more expensive, buyers are discovering unique advantages in other states: Queensland's tropical coasts, Western Australia's wine regions and Mediterranean climate, South Australia's wine heritage, Northern Territory's desert landscapes, and Tasmania's island living.

The pandemic boosted all lifestyle markets, with growth ranging from 30 per cent to 65 per cent from 2020-2022. However, pre-pandemic patterns show significant differences between states that continue to shape performance today.

New South Wales' lifestyle markets were early winners from Sydney's affordability crisis. Between 2015 and 2019, regional NSW lifestyle destinations grew between 15 per cent and 28 per cent, with premium areas like Bangalow near Byron Bay leading at 28 per cent growth.

The pandemic accelerated this trend, but now growth has shifted within the state. The most expensive lifestyle destinations are slowing down. Bangalow, which had the strongest pre-pandemic growth, now shows the weakest post-pandemic performance at just 4.6 per cent. Byron Bay and the Southern Highlands follow similar patterns as prices push buyers away.

Meanwhile, more affordable lifestyle areas are picking up momentum. The Central Coast and Blue Mountains, which saw modest early growth, now show stronger performance. Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, and Hunter Valley offer cheaper entry points to New South Wales lifestyle living.

Victoria's lifestyle markets showed even stronger early performance than New South Wales, with growth ranging from 16 per cent to 41 per cent between 2015 and 2019 as Melbourne buyers sought alternatives.

Now Victoria's lifestyle markets show clear signs of buyers moving to more affordable options within the state. The Grampians, Victoria's most affordable lifestyle market, now leads growth after minimal pre-pandemic performance. Meanwhile, premium coastal markets like Lorne, Mornington Peninsula, and Otway have slowed to 0-4 per cent growth as prices push buyers away.

Bright-Mount Beauty stands as the exception, maintaining strong growth across all periods. But most other Victoria lifestyle markets have largely flattened from 2023 to 2025 following their huge pandemic boom, as buyers exhaust the affordable options within the state.

Queensland's lifestyle markets follow a clear pattern: established premium destinations are slowing down while emerging areas accelerate.

The Gold Coast ($1.29M) and Sunshine Coast ($1.22M) lead in value and showed solid pre-pandemic growth of 12 per cent and 15 per cent respectively. Both exploded during the pandemic with growth around 57-58 per cent, but have now moderated to more sustainable 22-26 per cent post-pandemic growth as prices reach premium levels.

Port Douglas ($1.1M) follows a similar trajectory, with strong pandemic performance of 50 per cent now settling to 24 per cent growth.

Meanwhile, emerging destinations are hitting their stride. Airlie-Whitsundays and Mission Beach show exceptional post-pandemic growth of 37-39 per cent at more accessible price points of $857,000 and $523,000 respectively. These areas saw minimal pre-pandemic activity but are now benefiting as buyers seek Queensland's tropical lifestyle at lower entry costs.

WA's lifestyle markets tell a unique story of commodity-driven volatility. Unlike New South Wales and Victoria's steady early growth, Western Australian lifestyle destinations actually declined between 2015-2019, with Augusta-Margaret River-Busselton down 4.3 per cent, Denmark down 1.9 per cent, and Albany down 7.0 per cent.

This decline reflected Western Australia's broader economic struggles during the mining downturn. Even lifestyle buyers were affected by reduced purchasing power across the state's resource-dependent economy.

The pandemic changed everything. All three markets surged with growth between 30-39 per cent, then accelerated even further post-pandemic. Albany now shows the strongest recent performance at 47.9 per cent growth between 2023 and 2025, followed by Augusta-Margaret River-Busselton at 43 per cent and Denmark at 41 per cent.

Augusta-Margaret River-Busselton leads in value at $987,000, offering coastal towns like Dunsborough, rural areas like Cowaramup, surf destinations like Yallingup, and the famous Margaret River wine region. Denmark ($795,000) and Albany ($704,000) provide more affordable entry points.

Western Australia's lifestyle markets demonstrate how resource sector recovery has restored purchasing power, driving exceptional recent acceleration. This shows these markets are fundamentally tied to commodity cycles rather than pure affordability migration like the eastern states.

South Australia's lifestyle markets showed modest pre-pandemic growth of around 5-7 per cent, with the exception of Clare Valley declining slightly at -1 per cent. The pandemic brought strong acceleration across all South Australian lifestyle destinations, ranging from 31 per cent to 50 per cent growth. This momentum has continued as South Australia benefits from overflow demand from expensive eastern markets.

Victor Harbor on the Fleurieu Peninsula leads both price ($759,000) and recent performance with 31 per cent post-pandemic growth, making it South Australia's most popular lifestyle destination.

The wine regions are seeing particularly strong demand. Barossa Valley ($668,000) and Clare Valley ($531,000) both show exceptional recent growth of around 46 per cent as buyers discover these areas offer comparable lifestyle benefits to New South Wales and Victoria wine regions at substantial discounts.

Kangaroo Island remains the most accessible option at $488,000, recording solid 28 per cent recent growth despite its more isolated location.

South Australia's lifestyle markets demonstrate how affordability drives sustained demand when combined with genuine lifestyle appeal, positioning South Australia as the value alternative to expensive eastern markets.

The Northern Territory offers unique desert landscapes and Indigenous cultural heritage for authentic wilderness experiences. However, both Alice Springs ($503,000) and Katherine ($357,000) declined before the pandemic, with Katherine falling 14 per cent and Alice Springs down 1 per cent.

The pandemic brought modest recovery of around 14-15 per cent growth, but this was the weakest nationally. Post-pandemic, Alice Springs has stalled at -0.1 per cent while Katherine shows minimal 4 per cent growth. Alice Springs commands a premium as gateway to Uluru, but remote location, extreme climate, and increasing crime rate create barriers for mainstream lifestyle migration.