10 best suburbs in Regional New South Wales to invest in 2025

New South Wales provides a large variety of options for home buyers and investors. It includes some of the nation’s largest regional cities, a range of strong inland regional centres, and hill change areas. Overall, this regional property market continues to disprove the myths that regional markets generally follow the lead of their capital cities.

The average performance for NSW’s regional areas in 2024 included higher price growth both for houses and for units, putting the regions ahead of Sydney.

What’s more, the regions outrank the capital on vacancy rates as well as infrastructure influence, while matching Sydney on sales activity and price trends. Only on rental growth is regional NSW behind Sydney.

The strongest indication for stronger future performance in regional NSW comes from the extensive list of infrastructure projects. For example, the $31 billion Inland Rail Link, the largest national infrastructure development currently under construction, has ignited markets along its path as it heads north towards Queensland—demonstrating the positive impact major projects like this can have.

The data below was prepared in February 2025 with suburb median prices, growth rates, vacancy rates and median rental yields provided by Hotspotting by Ryder and initial outlay and monthly repayments calculated by Canstar Research.

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Top 10 best regional towns to invest in NSW in 2025

• Belmont North
  
• Dubbo
  
• Glen Innes
  
• Katoomba
  
• Mount Austin
  
• North Albury
  
• North Tamworth
  
• San Remo
  
• Singleton Heights
  
• Tweed Heads South (U)
  

Belmont North

The Greater Newcastle region, including the Lake Macquarie LGA, is one of the steadiest markets in Regional NSW. Belmont North sits between Lake Macquarie and the ocean, alongside Belmont Wetlands State Park and Nine Mile Beach. It lifted its median house price 12% in the past year to maintain its solid long-term average, with rents rising 9%, underpinned by a 0.4% vacancy rate.

Dubbo

This important, strategically located regional city is one of the steadiest markets in NSW, where house prices have risen consistently for the past five years, at an average of 9% per year. With buyer demand rising, Dubbo looks set to maintain its growth record: it remains affordable (median house prices of $575,000) and, with vacancies at 1.2%, rents are rising.

Glen Innes

Strategically located at the intersection of the New England and Gwydir highways, Glen Innes is a value-for-money proposition. Its prices have risen at an average rate of 11% a year for five years, but the median house price remains in the mid-$300,000s. This Northern Tablelands town attracts consistent buyer demand and rents are growing steadily, with vacancies a little above 1%.

Katoomba

The Blue Mountains region is a national icon on the western fringe of Greater Sydney, with the township of Katoomba attracting consistent demand from buyers, thanks to a solid track record of capital growth. Katoomba is a second wind market, having experienced strong price growth from 2020 to 2022, followed by a period of correction, before rising again. Its median house price rose 8% in the past 12 months and rents rose by a similar amount, underpinned by low vacancies.

Mount Austin

Wagga Wagga is one of the nation’s sturdiest regional economies, boosted by agriculture, education, tourism and a strong military economy (thanks to locally positioned army and air force bases). Mount Austin is one of the city’s most affordable suburbs, despite a 13% five-year growth average and a 21% rise in the past year. The vacancy rate is below 1% and rents rose 8% in the past 12 months. Mount Austin’s features include the City of Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens.

North Albury

Investors attracted to the strong Albury-Wodonga economy may choose to look north of the border to avoid Victorian stamp duty and land tax. Albury is generally a second-wind market, rising again after a pause in its cycle. North Albury is one of the affordable NSW options, with a five-year capital growth average of 13% a year. With vacancies at 0.6%, North Albury rents rose 12% in the past year.

North Tamworth

The median house price for North Tamworth has been rising steadily, almost without pause, for the past five years, with annual averages reaching 11% per annum. This reflects the ongoing strength of the Tamworth economy as a key regional city which is being targeted with major infrastructure projects. North Tamworth contains Tamworth Hospital and a major shopping centre, making rental demand strong, with vacancies near zero.

San Remo

Despite big price growth in the 2020-2022 boom, the Central Coast still looks affordable compared to Sydney and continues to attract lifestyle buyers. Among the many appealing enclaves in this water-based municipality, San Remo on Budgewoi Lake alongside the Pacific Highway stands out—despite price growth averaging 10% a year over the past five years, its median house price of $700,000 is below even the cheapest of suburbs in Greater Sydney.

Singleton Heights

The Hunter Region always features in conversations about real estate hotspots in NSW, with its strong, multi-faceted economy and proximity to Newcastle. It rates as a second wind market, poised for another growth spurt after a recent pause in the local cycle. Singleton Heights has a strong capital growth record, vacancies at 0.5% and rents up 10% in the past year.

Tweed Heads South (U)

This region has a foot in two camps, being part of Regional NSW but also an extension of the Gold Coast, with an economy shared with twin town Coolangatta and easy access to Gold Coast Airport. Tweed Heads South has water frontages, green space and Tweed City Shopping Centre. It’s a more affordable alternative to Tweed Heads, notably units (median $670,000). Rents rose 12% in 2024, boosted by 0.6% vacancies.

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Best regional towns to invest in NSW 2025

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Source: www.canstar.com.au. Prepared in February 2025. Based on a selection of suburbs’ median prices, growth and rent figures provided by Hotspotting by Ryder. Initial outlay figures include the deposit, stamp duty, mortgage registration and transfer fees; and lenders’ mortgage insurance (LMI) premium for the 10% deposit scenarios. Stamp duty calculated based on an owner occupier purchase of an established dwelling where applicable. FHB concessions include stamp duty only. LMI premium based on Helia LMI Premium Calculator for an owner occupier borrower and a loan term of 30 years. Monthly repayments calculated based on the interest rates of 6.20% (20% deposit) and 6.34% (10% deposit) and a loan term of 30 years. Interest rates based on the RBA Lenders’ Interest Rates (November 2024). Percentage of income based on the average total income by Greater Capital City Statistical Area (ABS Personal Income, 2021-22), adjusted by the ABS Wage Price Index (Sep-2024) for each state.

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What are some of the factors that are affecting the regional NSW market?

Sales volumes

Regional NSW showed signs of recovery in the second half of 2023 and translated into better sales activity in 2024. Over half of the towns and suburbs in Regional NSW have positive sales activity numbers.

Quarterly price growth

A third of locations within regional NSW delivered median price growth above 2% in the latest quarter. With sales activity looking positive in many locations, this may improve as 2025 unfolds.

Vacancy rates

Regional NSW was an under-achiever on vacancy rates last year, but this has changed significantly. Markets with vacancies under 1% have risen from 39% last year to 59%.

Rental growth

Vacancy rates have been tightening in regional NSW. Almost two-thirds of regional NSW locations recorded rental growth above 5% in 2024, which indicates a strong performance.

Infrastructure spending

This is an area where regional NSW is performing quite well, but it’s only average when you consider that the nation is experiencing a notable infrastructure boom. Estimated calculations indicate almost $60 million in infrastructure projects in 2024 with another $30 billion in planning, headed by the $31 billion Inland Rail Link, some big hospital projects and multiple major alternative energy developments.

Cover image source: Taras Vyshnya/Shutterstock.com