Home buyers are flooding into unlikely corners of the country as interest rate cuts unleash a wave of demand, with regional towns topping the list of areas surging in popularity.

Lending figures from Westpac revealed nearly half of the top 30 suburbs with the biggest increase in buying activity over the year to May were outside capital cities.

It signalled a dramatic shift away from some traditional urban strongholds, with buyers chasing affordability, lifestyle and better bang for their buck in a range of once overlooked regional areas.

Growth areas also reflected where new infrastructure was attracting more people.

Among the biggest lending activity growth across Queensland was in Bundaberg, where there was a recent major port expansion.

Port Stephens and Lake Macquarie were some of

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