More than one-third of Australians live in regional areas, which hold appeal for affordability and lifestyle.

A new report has found the Gold Coast in Qld and Mandurah in WA are the most expensive regional areas in the country, while Launceston in Tas and Mount Gambier in SA are the most affordable.

The RP Data analysis found the most affordable houses are found in Rocherlea and Mayfield, within Launceston. Houses in Rocherlea have a current median house price of $145,000.

The Geelong area in Victoria also dominates the list of affordable areas, with suburbs such as Norlane and Corio offering median house prices under $183,000.

Newcastle in NSW is the only other region represented with Windale the fifth most affordable suburb in which to buy a house with a median price of $183,500.

Meanwhile, new Reserve Bank figures show housing credit rose by 7.1 per cent over the year to June, with the rise due to growth in lending to owner-occupiers, with only weak growth in lending to investors.

Other personal credit fell by 0.3 per cent over June, following a decline of 0.4 per cent over May. Over the year to June, other personal credit fell by 7.0 per cent, reflecting a large decline in margin lending.Business credit fell by 0.5 per cent over June 2009, following a decline of 0.8 per cent over May. Since its peak in November 2008, most of the decline in business credit has been due to falls in foreign currency denominated lending.

These falls reflect both the appreciation of the Australian dollar over this period and some reduction in the stock of foreign currency denominated lending. Over the year to June, business credit rose by 0.5 per cent.

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