Geelong still firing

Housing market rises as Melbourne falls

GEELONG leads regional Australia for home value gains as capital city values fell annually for the first time since 2012, a new index shows.

The city’s 10.2 per cent annual growth for dwelling values was bettered only by 12.7 per cent growth in Hobart, according to CoreLogic’s May Home Value Index.

Region-wide values climbed 3.8 per cent in the three months to June to reach $545,902 yesterday.

Meanwhile, Melbourne home values slipped 0.5 per cent in May — the sixth straight month of decline — with demand falling significantly in some parts of the city.

Melbourne-wide dwelling values fell 1.6 per cent over six months, including 1.2 per cent in the past quarter, though they rose 2.2 per cent annually.

While Geelong home values continue to rise, new data revealed home sales in the region were at their lowest in three years, while the number of properties listed for sale was half that on the market five years ago.

That’s feeding the competition from increased demand, particularly Melbourne residents looking to Vic- toria’s second city as an affordable lifestyle option.

Realestate.com.au chief economist Nerida Conisbee said the sales slump was a sign of local confidence in the market.

“The fact that volumes have declined by 3 per cent over the year shows that people have got a lot of confidence in the market and are holding on to properties despite the fact prices are going up quite rapidly,” Ms Conisbee said.

CoreLogic research analyst Cameron Kusher said incentives for firsthome buyers to purchase in regional areas made Geelong more attractive than Melbourne suburbs on a similar radius from Melbourne’s CBD.

“Geelong, Latrobe, Gippsland, Bendigo and Ballarat are alternatives to Melbourne. The regional rail links are better now, so if you have to come into the city it’s not so bad, and they haven’t had the same kind of escalation in cost of housing we have seen in Melbourne over the past seven to eight years.”

But lifestyle markets on the Surf Coast and Bellarine Peninsula were also contributing to the growth.

“Melbourne homeowners have seen a significant increase in their value of their homes so they can buy a holiday home or a retirement property and make a full-time move,” he said.