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Mortgage brokers in the cities should seriously investigate the opportunities that lie in regional cities – not only for their clients, but for themselves.
Advances in technology means brokers no longer have to be tied to an office in a capital city. This is an opportunity many professionals take advantage of in regional NSW, establishing and operating successful home offices, working with clients from across Australia and the world. There are also increasing opportunities to conduct business locally as Australians move to regional cities in search of an improved lifestyle and more affordable residential property.
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Property prices are another strong attraction. As we enter the spring property market, many young Australians will be setting out to purchase their first home, an increasingly challenging prospect in a market that has seen prices rise by up to 16 per cent year-on-year, according to RP Data.
However, purchasing a first home does not need to be an insurmountable challenge. For many, the solution has been found in NSW regional cities. Over the past three and a half years, more than 1,800 Sydney families have made the move to regional NSW as part of the Evocities campaign.
A joint initiative between the seven regional cities of Albury, Armidale, Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange, Tamworth and Wagga Wagga, the Evocities campaign aims to show capital city dwellers that a move to an Evocity is a city change where a wide range of opportunities exist for personal and professional growth.
As an example, the mean property prices in Bathurst, Dubbo and Tamworth of $319,000, $220,000 and $240,000 respectively are all less than half of the mean property price in Sydney of $650,000.
This isn’t only relevant to first home buyers. Increases in property values and rental prices mean that living in Sydney is no longer an affordable proposition for many professionals, including brokers.
As market activity in the first few weeks of spring has indicated, the upward pressure placed on inner city housing prices aren’t likely to ease in the foreseeable future.
Moving to a regional city also means a dramatic improvement in lifestyle, with 79 per cent of Evocity residents reporting in a 2011 survey that they currently have a good work-life balance, as opposed to 49 per cent of Sydney residents. This improvement in work-life balance could be for a range of reasons – however, one that stands out is that nine in 10 Evocities residents are able to get to work in less than 20 minutes, a commuting time less than half of Sydney residents.
So why not jump ahead of the trend and take a look at the benefits of regional Australia? You may be surprised at what you find.
