The most popular suburbs for first-home buyers have been revealed, with regional areas and outer suburbs in hot demand from buyers now able to work from home.

Sydney’s west and the NSW Central Coast recorded jumps in demand, alongside Geelong’s Armstrong Creek in Victoria and Logan south of Brisbane, on lending data from NAB.

“First-home buyers are back in the market at levels we haven’t seen for a decade,” NAB Executive, Home Ownership, Andy Kerr said.

“Demand has been supported by historically low interest rates and more government support, such as the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme and HomeBuilder. A brief pullback in property prices also helped first-home buyers as the uncertainty of COVID-19 put many plans on ice, with investor demand slowing noticeably.”

Lending to first-home buyers at NAB increased by 21 per cent in the three months to October 31, compared to the 12-month average.

It comes as official figures show overall loan growth to first-home buyers across banks has spiked to levels not seen since the GFC, with investors sitting on the sidelines amid an uncertain rental market.

In NSW, first-home buyer hotspots are being led by postcodes that fall primarily into two regions: one is west of Sydney’s CBD, from Parramatta through to the foot of the Blue Mountains, and the other is Camden and Campbelltown and the surrounding suburbs in Sydney’s south-west.