Affordability key to boom
Outpriced buyers are now turning to Grovedale
THE Grovedale property market is booming as buyers discover its affordability.
Buyers being outpriced in Belmont and Highton are now looking to Grovedale.
Demand for property in Grovedale has increased significantly in the past few months, according to local agents.
Hayeswinckle, Highton agent Michelle Winckle said the area was really booming, with a lot of properties selling above the top end of the asking price.
“We are seeing 40-50 groups coming through on a weekend and 10-15 offers,” Ms Winckle said.
Fellow Hayeswinckle agent Peter Norman sold 14 Alan St, Grovedale, for above the asking price to first-home buyers for $500,000.
Geelong buyers Nick Alford and Kylie Gamble said they had been looking for 12 months and would have inspected 20-30 properties.
“We didn’t find anything that suited us, so we decided not to settle on something we didn’t want,” Mr Alford said.
Instead the couple waited patiently and when 14 Alan St, Grovedale, hit the market, they knew it was the one.
“As soon as my partner walked in, she said she wanted it and that was it,” Mr Alford said.
They were attracted to Grovedale because of its proximity to a range of facilities.
“It is convenient, everything is really close, with a school and supermarket just down the road, and everything else is pretty much 10 minutes away,” Mr Alford said.
CoreLogic data shows the median house price in Grovedale has increased 9.3 per cent to $410,000 in the past year.
Compared to Belmont’s median price increase of 15.9 per cent to $463,500 in the past year, Grovedale is seen as a more affordable option.
Ray White, Highton agent Adam Natonewski said for a first-home buyer or investor, Grovedale was the first port of call for affordability and offering.
“There are good-quality PEACEFUL SANCTUARY brick veneer homes and a combination of old and new and you are surrounded by amenities,” Mr Natonewski said.
Those amenities include the nearby Waurn Ponds Shopping Centre, Deakin University, Epworth Hospital and the future Armstrong Creek shopping precinct.
Mr Natonewski said de- mand for property in Grovedale was outweighing supply.
“As a result of that, pricing i is becoming more erratic and unpredictable, hence the auction method is being preferred,” he said.
“Buyers are seeing the value in the area, including investors from Sydney and Adelaide.
“We are getting a lot of buyers’ advocates looking on behalf of interstate buyers more than ever, they tend to be bidding on every one of our auctions.”
Mr Norman also said auctions were the increasingly preferred method of sale because of the demand.