Business experts have declared Wagga's economy is "so hot right now", but say the housing crisis could stop the city from reaching its full potential.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Local business leaders gathered on Thursday for the Committee 4 Wagga inaugural business summit and making Wagga "the most liveable regional city" was the topic at hand.
Speaking during a panel discussion about the city's viability as an investment destination, CBA's head of regional and agribusiness Paul Fowler said Wagga was proving irresistible to investors.
"This is not the regions coming out and following the national trajectory in terms of economic recovery, this is the regions leading the economic recovery," he said.
Wagga is uniquely placed to continue to attract investors because of its geographic location between Sydney and Melbourne, but also its rapidly growing population, he said.
IN OTHER NEWS:
CBA modelling showed the city has had a 31 per cent increase in net migration over the past 12 months.
However, he said with vacancy rates sitting at 0.3 per cent, housing must keep up with population growth.
"Fundamentally we've got to be able to provide [people] with the housing to support that growing population," he said.
A recent report by PRD labelled Wagga one of 10 most affordable regional centres across the country. Likewise, buyers agents InvestorKit rated Wagga one of the best cities to invest in real estate due to low unemployment and consistent growth and yields each year.
But as investment grows the ability to get into the market becomes more difficult. Mr Fowler said the gap between the cost of city living and living in the regions is narrowing and without more housing, Wagga won't attract the workforce to keep up with its growth.
"With that shortage of housing we've seen the pricing of housing and house affordability diminish," he said.
"With 2500 job vacancies and the infrastructure projects in place and the additional thousands of roles that will create, where are those people going to live?"
Workforce struggles was a recurring topic of discussion on the day, with former Member for Riverina Kay Hull calling for trade certificates to be given the same respect as degrees to attract people to trade roles.
But in spite of housing and workforce issues, the outlook was positive among the speakers.
"It goes without saying that we've got challenges ... yet we're at the precipice of one of the most exciting times and significant boom opportunities in Wagga's history," said Committee 4 Wagga chairman Adam Drummond.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Download our app from the Apple Store or Google Play
- Bookmark dailyadvertiser.com.au
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters