Why regional property still stacks up for investors in 2026
Regional Australia continues to offer some of the strongest combinations of affordability, rental yields and long-term growth prospects but investors need to choose locations with real economic depth.
While housing affordability remains a major issue in Australia, the reality is that very few people actually want property prices to fall.
That’s because real estate is the cornerstone of the wealth of most Australians, and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who would be happy for the value of their asset to decrease.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show that Australia has the second highest wealth levels in the world and much of that wealth is held in property.
Total household wealth was up to 2.7 per cent, to $17.76 trillion in the June quarter 2025, primarily driven by residential property assets that account for around $12 trillion of that.
Data from Swiss bank UBA shows that recent surges in property values have boosted the number of Australian millionaires to a global high.
For those trying to get into the market it is frustrating that Australian property prices are continuing to rise but the good news, particularly for investors who don’t need to live in a certain location, is that there are still plenty of affordable opportunities available.
Outside the capital cities, regional Australia still offers some of the best combinations of affordability, solid yields and long-term growth.
That’s not across the board though, investors need to pick the right regional city, as the pandemic years pushed a lot of buyers into regional markets, which delivered very strong price gains in some locations.
Regional cities that have good connections to capital cities, maturing town centres and an expanding commuter base, such as Geelong, Ballarat and the Mitchell Shire in Victoria, still offer good opportunities for investors to buy at an affordable price point with good yields.
Locations such as Bundaberg and Launceston, both appealing lifestyle markets with constrained supply and major infrastructure investments, are also appealing.
The common trend across these markets is that they offer value with the potential for further upside.
Transaction levels are rising in regional Victoria, which has the growing demand that generally leads to future price growth. Sales in regional Victoria are now at the highest levels since the pandemic peak in December 2021.
In Ballarat investors can still secure a house in the $400,000 to $500,000 range, a price point not seen in most capital city markets for quite some time.
While that’s an appealing price point, when considering regional Australia, it’s still essential that investors are not driven by price alone and avoid speculative boom towns or one-dimensional mining cities.
Instead, the top regional locations for investment should be in growth corridors with growing or resilient populations, improving infrastructure and genuine employment bases.
