Internal migration, which means people moving from one part of Australia to another, continues to be a major driver in real estate markets across the nation.

The trend we call The Exodus to Affordable Lifestyle is still pumping, with large numbers of people relocating from the biggest cities to regional areas in pursuit of a different lifestyle at cheaper prices.

The latest data and analysis from a range of sources, including the Regional Australia Institute and real estate data company CoreLogic, confirms that this remains a major demographic force, with major consequences for real estate.

It was not, as media has incorrectly portrayed, a trend generated by the Covid lockdowns. It has been happening for much longer than that and it continues to be a significant force.

Queensland has long been, and remains, one of the nation’s chief beneficiaries of this mass movement of people in search on affordability and lifestyle, powered by technology which has enabled more and more people to work remotely.

This has impacted real estate markets across the state, from the Gold Coast at the NSW border up to Townsville and Cairns in North Queensland.

In the new 2024 edition of Rising Stars, a report written by Hotspotting in conjunction with the nation’s biggest comparison website, Canstar, Queensland is ranked as the regional market with the strongest prospects for the coming year.

The Rising Stars report uses five key metrics to rank the 14 major market jurisdictions - the eight capital cities and six state regional markets - on their prospects for growth in 2024.

Queensland was rated the strongest regional market and ranked fifth overall among the 14 market jurisdictions.

It ranked in the top 4 nationally on three of the five metrics – sales activity, short-term price growth and infrastructure spending. It also produced solid ratings on vacancy rates and rental growth.

The combination of its solid performance across a range of measures has resulted in a strong overall ranking – and gives substance to the expectation that Regional Queensland markets will be among the nation’s out-performers in 2024.