DRIVING REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THROUGH BUILD TO RENT TO OWN
By Gordon Noble, Caitlin McGee, Dr Matt Daly
Australia is experiencing a structural shift as Australians move to live in regional areas. Whilst the trend started during COVID-19, it is likely to persist as the retirement of over 5 million baby-boomers coincides with significant regional economic development opportunities.
To maximise the economic and social benefits of developing regional economies, there is a need to recognise the housing challenges that regions face that include a reluctance for banks to lend to small regional communities and the lack of deep housing supply chains. With funding from the Australian Public Policy Institute, the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures’ developed a proposed build-to-rent-to-own model that offers an alternative that can support regional economic development whilst building communities.
THE SHIFT TO THE REGIONS IS SUPPORTING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Australians have been moving to the regions from capital cities for almost 20 years. Whilst this trend increased during COVID-19, this movement has been happening since 2007. The shift to the regions is leading to housing price growth with price increases in regional areas outpacing capital cities over the year to March 2025. There are a number of factors driving this structural shift that are likely to be permanent. People leaving capital cities tend to have higher household net worth and be older than those moving to capital cities from a regional area. This may suggest that transition to retirement is a motivator, particularly for baby-boomers who no longer need to live near their work. With the youngest baby-boomer born in 1965 now eligible to access their superannuation, we have started to see superannuation funds increase their benefit payments, which is an indicator of increased numbers of people transitioning to retirement. In 2025 superannuation benefit payments increased in a single year by 12.8 per cent to $ 132.5 billion.
Growth in economic opportunities, including the development of renewable energy zones, is also creating thousands of jobs in the regions. A key challenge being experienced in some regional economies is the shortages of accommodation for workers. An example is the development of the Renewable Energy Zone in New England which is expected to attract up to $ 10.7 billion in private sector investment, supporting 1,250 operational jobs and 6,000 construction jobs with workers housed in both temporary and permanent accommodation. The need for worker accommodation is being
VOL 19 NO 1 2026 28 www. edaustralia. com. au