Victoria tops the list for population growth in new data

Tim Reardon, chief economist at the HIA, identified that most of the growth in Melbourne is being found all over the greater capital city area.

“The majority of the growth is in the fringe of Melbourne as the city expands, although inner city suburbs such as Southbank and Docklands are also enjoying strong growth as they change to accommodate higher density living,” Mr Reardon said.

“This is not surprising given the significant investment in infrastructure and the region’s growing professional services sector.”

The Rockbank - Mount Cottrell area was determined to be the number one building and population hotspot, which saw an annual population growth rate of 59.4 per cent and $224.2 million in building approvals.

“Major infrastructure projects, including upgrades to the train station and train lines, as well as a new six-lane arterial road connecting the area are expected to maintain the momentum to keep the area as a hotspot next year,” Mr Reardon said.

Following Rockbank - Mount Cottrell was Michleham - Yuroke, also in Melbourne in second place and last year’s number one, and then in third was Pimpama in the Gold Coast in Queensland.

Due to the overall cooling in the residential property market, Mr Reardon said future hotspots are likely to be more centralised to the major capital cities, like Melbourne and Sydney.

Across the states and territories for financial year 2017-18, both Victoria and the ACT experienced the highest rate of population growth at 2.2 per cent, then Queensland at 1.7 per cent, NSW at 1.5 per cent, Tasmania at 1.1 per cent, Western Australia at 0.8 of a percentage point, South Australia at 0.7 of a percentage point and the Northern Territory, which was the only state or territory to see population growth decline at 0.1 of a percentage point.

The national top 20 population and building hotspots, according to the HIA, are: