Terry Ryder, director of hotspotting.com.au, a website designed to identify real estate future growth areas, visited the Border on Monday to present his research over the past 18 months.

“I have done most of my research on information I have gathered from a distance,” he said yesterday in Albury.

“It was not until I did a tour of Albury-Wodonga on Monday that I saw what a strong property market the area has.

“I was also able to realise the enormity of what is happening in Albury-Wodonga with the presence of national and international companies, such as Mars and the Woolworths Distribution Centre.”

Mr Ryder said Albury-Wodonga ticked all the boxes, from national and international companies to its diverse economy that included strong agricultural and manufacturing sectors.

“One of the key things we look for is a diverse economy because this means lots of jobs are being created,” he said.

“There are not many regional centres around that have much diverse strength.”

And when it came to residential properties, he told Border residents to look no further than their own backyard.

“Albury-Wodonga residents are sitting in a hot spot,” he said.

“Investment returns are about 6 per cent and you can borrow at 5 per cent.

“I know I would rather buy a property in Albury-Wodonga than in the inner suburbs of Melbourne.”