Led by former Newcastle town planner Garry Fielding, the Regional Housing Taskforce was established in July to report into the NSW government on housing in regional NSW.

The taskforce found that rental property shortage and affordable housing were the most common issues.

Those two factors, along with housing diversity and migration, were among the top issues for those in the Hunter region.

The most-raised issue in the Hunter was the need for timelier provision of key infrastructure such as sewerage, water and roads to complement new urban development sites.

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Mr Fielding said infilling established areas had been noted as an important strategy for the City of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie City councils, who both made submissions to the taskforce.

"[Lake Macquarie Council's submission] said, I think quite laudably, that the continued sprawl of development is not sustainable for [their] unique environment and is typically more expensive from a cost of living and infrastructure servicing point of view," he said.

"They're keen, as they have been for some time now, to encourage urban infill and not just continue to add to the urban sprawl.

"City of Newcastle Council is in that same boat."

Mr Fielding said the Hunter was fortunate to have an Urban Development Program addressing the issue, but noted feedback that there was room for improvement.

"It's seen as a good program to address that infrastructure and alignment sequencing challenge, and is a potential model to look at being applied elsewhere in regional New South Wales."

The report coincided with news from from data firm CoreLogic revealing housing values nationwide are experiencing their fastest annual growth since June 1989.

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Newcastle median house prices jumped $145,000 between January and September, with rental prices also rising nearly 15 per cent in the year to April 30.

Mr Fielding said the much-discussed migration from cities to regional areas during COVID had been compounded by those living in regional areas staying put.

Property Council of Australia's Hunter director Anita Hugo welcomed the report and called for more discussion around the introduction of local planning panels to "depoliticise and streamline the planning approvals process".

The taskforce gathered input from more than 500 people across regional New South Wales, including the Hunter and Central Coast.