It appears the region – including Greater Geelong and the surrounding area – is no longer the place to be.

New data from Pexa shows the Covid boom is effectively over, as Melbourne saw huge growth in the number of people moving to the area over the past financial year.

Tarneit was the place to be: almost six thousand properties welcomed new residents.

“Areas like Tarneit really stand out with the high number of settlements, which reflects their popularity among home buyers,” said Julie Toth, chief economist at PEXA Group.

“Tarneit had the highest number of settlements of any suburb in the country in FY 2024, with 5,906 sales.

“Other highly regarded suburbs such as Marsden Park, Craigieburn and Ripley continue to attract significant interest due to their large-scale new-build housing developments.”