As mortgage rates continue to rise and south-east Queensland's population explodes with interstate arrivals, families and retirees are looking to country towns for a more relaxed, debt-free lifestyle.
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Louisa Bambling is seeing plenty of new faces in the main street of the North Burnett rural town of Monto.
With a population of just more than 1000 people, a new face popping into the coffee shop or pub was once often mistaken for a tourist, but these days it's not likely to be the case according to the real estate agent.
In the last two years things have changed in the cattle town, and Ms Bambling has been front and centre selling homes to the newcomers.
"A lot of the locals have been saying for a while now they don't recognise anyone up the street anymore," she said.
"To start with they thought it was tourists coming through, because there was a lot of tourists, but they would say 'no, we are locals, we live here now.'"
"It's been really good for the town, the town is thriving, local businesses have thrived from having more people spending money, it's had a really good flow on effect for the whole town."
Major growth since 2020
Data from property research firm CoreLogic shows Australian regional house prices have soared by an average 41.6 per cent since COVID-19 hit (compared to March 2020), with Monto experiencing the second largest growth in Queensland, with a 70.5 per cent increase (beaten by the Palms in Gympie, 75.1 per cent).
In contrast, Australian combined capital city house values are just 13 per cent above pre-pandemic levels.
Ms Bambling believes the interest in Monto has been a perfect storm of a mixture of factors.
Located close enough to the south-east for accessibility, just a few hours to the ocean and all the facilities required to provide a comfortable and affordable life, Monto has ticked a lot of boxes for those craving an escape from the chaos rapid growth has caused in the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and suburbs of Brisbane.
Home owners sold-up, cashed-in and bought a home for a fraction of their selling price.
"People want to get out of the rat race, they are moving out from the Sunshine Coast hinterland or Brisbane outskirts to here, looking for a quieter change," she said.
"Priceline has definitely been a big factor, I still think Monto has been cheaper even than neighbouring towns, just marginally cheaper.
"Majority of buyers have been owner occupiers at retirement age or almost retirement age, in the last 12 months a few more investors and local younger buyers, but still the majority is external from Monto coming in."
Several years ago Ms Bambling said you could buy a home in Monto for $70,000 to $90,000 - with average prices now around $170,000.
Monto not unique
While Monto is an interesting case study for the changing face of regional Queensland, it is not unique as small rural towns across Queensland welcome new faces.
Helen Aspinall is the Selling Principal at Ray White Blackall and has witnessed a similar shift in the Blackall-Tambo Region property market since 2020.
"It's been crazy busy, we have not stopped running since the start of COVID," she said.
"People from Melbourne and Sydney, all bought in the south-east, the Sunny Coast, Gold Coast, thinking that is where they want to be - which changed the demographic for the young families and the retirees.
"They went 'wow, it's way too busy now' or worked out they could get out of their mortgage, take the profits from selling in the city, buy something nice here or renovate for a lot less."
Working from home arrangements and strong cattle prices have also helped push up demand in the region Ms Aspinall said.
"The cattle market has been astronomical so we have that rural money that we have not seen because of the 10 years of drought," she said.
"We have young families that set up here, work from home and just travel if they need to."
Interest still there
Doom and gloom headlines about the housing market slow down and fear of major price drops in the major centres seem not to concern Ms Aspinall, who feels the rising interest rates could mean more people push to the bush to live without debt.
And with houses still available for under $200,000, her phone is still ringing.
"All the cheaper homes, those around $90,000 are gone," she said.
"It slowed down a little before Christmas, and I thought things might be easing and then I sold four homes Christmas week.
"It's so positive, it means our town isn't dying, we have turnover, people coming in, people going out, it's a really good feel at the moment."
The phone is still ringing with interested buyers for Ms Bambling in Monto as well, who also believes the market is still inventing with all that the town has to offer.
"When I first started there was properties that sat on the market for 10 plus years, that doesn't happen anymore," she said.
"I think it will last, the people are here now and they are happy."
