NORLANE OUR NEW PROPERTY HOT SPOT:
NORLANE is hot property, with the Department of Human Services offloading houses to the tune of $1.6 million yesterday.
Six ex-commission homes were put under the hammer at an in-house auction, with buyers seeing value well above reserve, according to Vanders, Geelong auctioneer, Rod van der Chys.
“DHS were offloading houses they’ve deemed as nonhabitable,” he said. “They needed to make the choice to either refurbish them or offer them up to the general public.”
The six properties, five in Norlane and one in Grovedale were hotly contested, with outof-town buyers eyeing off the large land parcels and high rental yields in the north, while a local couple snapped up the Grovedale home to renovate.
“As far as Norlane’s resurgence is concerned, it’s been led by out-of-towners. With its traditional roots as modest housing, a lot of Geelong people have turned their back on it,” Mr van der Chys said.
The Norlane properties all had reserves around the $200,000 mark but buyers were happy to pay more for their future development po- tential. “There was no secret about the number, as soon as we put it on the market, I said ‘we’re selling’, and that kicked the auction off,” Mr van der Chys said.
“All five Norlane buyers were out-of-towners, the Grovedale home was a local couple.”
The Norlane buyers were all looking to refurbish the properties, tenant them and land bank for future development Mr van der Chys said.
New Real Estate Institute of Victoria data ranks Norlane in the top 10 investment postcodes in regional Victoria.
Two-bedroom houses are yielding a gross 5.8 per cent, selling for a median of $205,500 and accruing a median rent of $228 per week.
REIV president Joseph Walton said regional Victoria was increasingly attractive for investors, offering both high returns and a range of property types.
“Regional Victoria provides real value for money with affordable entry points to the market and high rental returns, allowing investors to service their loan,” he said.
“Property is a long-term investment with improved infrastructure and amenities across the state likely to drive house price growth in the coming years.”