Queensland still wins State of Relocation, says REIQ

While the State of Origin shield may be heading south, Queensland continues to dominate the interstate migration ladder, attracting more Australians from other states than any other jurisdiction.

Further, Queensland still wins the State of “Relocation” – with New South Wales experiencing large losses of residents and many heading straight to the Sunshine State.

According to recent interstate migration data analysed by the REIQ, New South Wales is still the largest source of interstate migrants to Queensland^[1] – contributing around 60.3% of Queensland’s net gain (or approximately 13,000 blues from 21,600 people) in 2024-25.^[2]

REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella said the fact so many Australians want to call Queensland home is a tremendous vote of confidence in our state's lifestyle, economy and prospects.

“Queensland’s overall population growth of 1.6% has easily outpaced New South Wales’ 1.2%, and in particular, the Sunshine State has proven to be an incredibly strong magnet for interstate migrants,” Ms Mercorella said.

“In 2025, Queensland gained 16,528 people from interstate migration, while New South Wales lost 21,465 people.

“The only other state with positive net interstate migration was Western Australia with 10,410, so Queensland comes out on top again.

“In fact, there is an expectation that Brisbane will buck the predicted national downturn in property values, because of Queensland’s unique set of circumstances including a significant supply shortfall, sustained demand pressures and strong long-term growth drivers.

“It’s hard to see how that wouldn’t be the case, with all that’s on the horizon for the city and the state – namely, just a little thing called the Olympics.

“Our lifestyle is hard to beat, and when you look at the migration figures, it’s clear which way the cockroaches are scurrying.”

The mass migration is not surprising when you consider New South Wales has the worst housing affordability rates in Australia in 2024-25, according to PropTrack’s Housing Affordability Index – which takes in account incomes, mortgage rates and home prices.^[3]

Cotality’s June quarter Home Value Index indicates that Brisbane’s dwelling median value ($1,118,306) remains lower than Sydney’s ($1,265,608), despite the disparity narrowing.^[4]

Meanwhile, Regional Queensland’s median dwelling value ($855,835) is higher than Regional NSW’s median value ($841,198) – with regional Queensland taking the lead since March 2026.

However, this doesn’t appear to be putting a dampener on demand for Queensland’s regions – in fact, Queensland continued to feature prominently among Australia's leading regional destinations, according to the latest Regional Movers Index.^[5]

The Sunshine Coast remained the nation's top regional migration hotspot, attracting 8.8% of Australia's total net internal migration over the 12 months to March 2026.

The Fraser Coast ranked third nationally with 3.9%, while Toowoomba and Townsville emerged among the fastest-growing destinations for capital city movers, recording annual growth in net capital-to-regional migration of 236.4% and 159.7%, respectively.

Queensland is also outpacing New South Wales economically. Over the long run, Queensland’s economic growth rate has exceeded NSW’s. Since 1989-90, the earliest year for which Gross State Product (GSP) data are available, Queensland’s economy has grown at an average annual rate of 3.6% compared with only 2.3% for NSW.^[6]

However, Ms Mercorella said Queensland's success and popularity brought with it a responsibility to ensure housing supply and infrastructure could keep up.

“Queensland's growth story should be celebrated, but it also reinforces the need to tackle our housing shortage with urgency,” she said.

“If we want to keep attracting workers, families and investors, we need to make sure we're building the homes, communities and infrastructure that support a growing population.”

ENDS

Media enquiries: Claire Ryan, REIQ Media Manager, M: 0417 623 723 E: media@reiq.com.au

Read another media release from the REIQ: Relief as State Budget holds steady on housing, says REIQ.

Or browse our suite of media releases.