Australians are fleeing unaffordable big cities as near-record immigration increases pressure on housing and pushes the population past 27 million.
Perth was Australia’s fastest-growing major city in the year to March, with a particularly tight rental market.
But surprisingly, Melbourne came in second, refuting the theory that population growth is directly linked to rising property prices.
Western Australia’s population grew by 3.1 percent over the year, new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed.
This was well above the national average of 2.3 per cent, as 10,039 people moved to mining-rich WA from other states, with another 64,902 moving from overseas.
But, surprisingly, Victoria was the second fastest growing state, with an annual growth rate of 2.7 per cent.
Melbourne receives a large share of foreign migration but, unlike Sydney, there is not a large exodus to other states because it still has affordable housing sectors.
Over the year, a near-record 509,800 net migrants moved to Australia, a level almost five times higher than the net birth rate of 105,500.
International student migration was the biggest source of growth, as Australia’s population increased by 615,300 people to 27.1 million.
Perth was Australia’s fastest-growing major city in the year to March as Western Australia’s population rose 3.1 per cent.
New South Wales received the largest number of foreign immigrants: 168,148 people moved there, representing one third of the total foreign immigrants.
The huge influx is also making Sydney increasingly unaffordable, with 31,183 people leaving New South Wales during the year.
Victoria saw 151,740 overseas migrants arrive, but the state had a small net interstate migration inflow of 537.
Despite strong population growth, Melbourne’s median house price fell 1 per cent in the year to August after the Labor government introduced a flat $975 levy on investors.
CoreLogic data showed the median price of a home and unit in Melbourne, at $776,044, is now cheaper than the equivalent value in Brisbane ($875,040), Perth ($785,250) and Adelaide ($790,789).
The Victorian capital still has affordable suburbs: Frankston North has a median house price of $589,361.
But, surprisingly, Victoria was the second fastest growing state, with an annual growth rate of 2.7 per cent (pictured are houses in Melbourne).
New South Wales received the largest share of overseas migrants, with 168,148 people moving there. The large influx is also making Sydney increasingly unaffordable, with 31,183 people leaving New South Wales during the year.
Queensland ranked third in terms of population growth, with an increase of 2.5 per cent.
Is The interstate influx of 30,930 people is making Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine State increasingly unaffordable, almost mirroring the interstate exodus from New South Wales.
The Sunshine State received 82,794 foreign immigrants.
In another surprise, Adelaide remains one of Australia’s strongest property markets despite 1,686 people leaving South Australia during the year.
South Africa’s population growth rate of 1.5 percent was well below the national average, with a smaller influx of immigrants of 26,048 people.
Despite this, Adelaide’s median house price grew by 14.5 per cent in the year to August, outpacing even Brisbane’s 14.1 per cent growth rate, even though south-east Queensland is experiencing much stronger population growth.
South Australia’s population growth was better than Tasmania’s very weak 0.4 per cent growth rate and the Northern Territory’s 0.8 per cent expansion.
But it was responsible for the Australian Capital Territory’s 1.8 per cent population increase.