10 best suburbs in Regional Victoria to invest in 2025

Regional Victoria didn’t post a strong result for 2024, and analysis for 2025 suggests prospects for improvement in the immediate future look unlikely.

Regional Victoria has suffered from an exodus of investors from the market, perhaps even more so than Melbourne, in response to higher property taxes and anti-investor policies by the Victorian State Government.

Only on vacancy rates does Regional Victoria perform slightly better, with the selloff of properties by investors leading to tight rental markets in many locations. This may be, however, to the benefit of first home buyers and owner-occupiers looking to enter the market.

The blow to Regional Victoria economies and property values from the July 2023 decision by the State Government to scrap the 2026 Commonwealth Games remains fresh in the memory—this has sharply reduced infrastructure spending plans in regional areas of the state.

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 areas to invest in Victoria in 2025

• Broadford
  

• Echuca
  

• Flora Hill
  

• Kyneton
  

• Norlane
  

• Red Cliffs
  

• Shepparton
  

• Traralgon
  

• Wendouree
  

• West Wodonga

Broadford

Much of Melbourne’s urban sprawl in the north has spilled over into Mitchell Shire, with towns like Broadford (alongside Seymour, Beveridge, Wallan and Kilmore) expected to experience major population growth in the next 10-15 years. Broadford, approximately 90km north of the Melbourne CBD, has a solid capital growth record and rents rose 11% in the past 12 months, underpinned by a 0.9% vacancy rate.

Echuca

The iconic Murray River town of Echuca is the capital of the Shire of Campaspe and shares an economy (based on tourism and agriculture) with twin town Moama on the other side of the New South Wales border (joint population around 25,000). It has a solid capital growth record (8% per year) and strong rental demand, with vacancies at 0.6% and rents up 8% in the past 12 months.

Flora Hill

Bendigo is one of Victoria’s largest regional cities (population 125,000 and projected to reach 155,000 in 10 years) and a typical ‘second-wind market’, poised to rise again after major 2020-2022 growth and a pause in the cycle more recently. The suburb of Flora Hill has strong rental demand, with vacancies at 0.5%—helped by the Bendigo campus of La Trobe University and proximity to Bendigo railway station.

Kyneton

The Macedon Ranges LGA north of Melbourne is another of the regions which capture some of the overflow population from the big city. The historic town of Kyneton is valued for its amenity and lifestyle—and has recorded solid price growth at a time when Regional Victoria generally has been in decline. With a vacancy rate below 1%, residential rents rose 11% in the past 12 months.

Norlane

The City of Greater Geelong has established a record of price growth based on a strong local economy, proximity to Melbourne and a waterfront lifestyle. The affordable suburb of Norlane (median prices $455,000 for houses and $395,000 for units) is one of the closest to Melbourne, with links via commuter rail and the Princes Highway. It has lots of green spaces, is close to the water and has major employment nodes.

Red Cliffs

The city of Mildura is the key regional centre for Victoria’s far north-west (it’s technically closer to Adelaide than to Melbourne) and recorded over 800 residential sales in the past 12 months. The town of Red Cliffs just outside Mildura is popular for its affordability and has a five-year capital growth record of 11% a year, including a 19% rise in 2024 in defiance of Regional Victoria trends. Rents rose 12%, with vacancies at 1.1%.

Shepparton

The key regional centre for the Goulburn Valley food bowl area, Shepparton has recorded over 600 residential sales in the past 12 months, with its median house price up 8% but still well below $500,000. The local economy is boosted by major infrastructure projects, including transport upgrades and alternative energy developments. Vacancies are low and rents have risen 19% in the past year.

Traralgon

The Latrobe Valley east of Melbourne is one of Victoria’s most vibrant economies, with Traralgon at its centre. Featuring regional offices for government agencies, banks and insurance companies—as well as the expanding Latrobe Regional Hospital—Traralgon has a solid capital growth record (averaging 9% a year) and had close to 600 residential sales in 2024. Vacancies are below 1% and rents rose 5% for houses and 12% for units in the past year.

Wendouree

The key regional city of Ballarat presents opportunities to buy, with prices having contracted after strong growth between 2020-2022. Wendouree is one of several Ballarat suburbs with median house prices in the $400,000s. The suburb has numerous schools, the Stockland Wendouree Shopping Centre and plenty of green spaces, including the Lake Wendouree Reserve.

West Wodonga

The twin cities of Albury and Wodonga separated by the NSW-Victoria border comprise one of the strongest regional economies in Australia and continues to grow. Capital growth has been exceptional, with West Wodonga averaging 10% per year over the past 10 years. This growth suburb, which sits alongside central Wodonga, has extensive amenities including schools, sports facilities and green spaces. Vacancies have been below 1% since 2019.

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Best regional areas to invest in Victoria 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 impacting the Regional Victoria market?

Sales volumes

Regional Victoria’s sales volumes have slipped in 2025 with only 39% of its locations having positive trends.

Quarterly price growth

This time last year, around 40% of locations in Regional Victoria had recorded solid price uplift in the quarter under review—but has since dropped to 14%. This is poor in the wider context of the overall Australian market. A key factor for this result is that investors are more likely to be selling than buying, according to Property Investment Professionals of Australia (PIPA) research.

Vacancy rates

A year ago, approximately 40% of locations had vacancy rates under 1% in Regional Victoria, but currently it’s above 50%—with ultra-low vacancies more than likely driven by investment property sell offs. This is by far Regional Victoria’s best performing metric.

Rental growth

With vacancies low and continuing to fall, more than half of locations recorded rental growth above 5% in 2024. Rents are expected to rise further as the supply of rental properties dwindles.

Infrastructure spending

Many of the key regional cities of Victoria have experienced some impact from infrastructure projects—including Geelong, Bendigo, Shepparton and the Latrobe Valley towns—but not at the level of other Australian markets. The cancellation of the 2026 Commonwealth Games has impacted this significantly.

Cover image source: myphotobank.com.au/Shutterstock.com