MOVING UNITS
Corio and Herne Hill among best performers
AS Geelong house prices continue to increase, more buyers are looking to units, with some northern suburbs unit prices spiking more than 20 per cent.
CoreLogic data shows Corio, Herne Hill, Norlane, Newcomb and Lara are the best-performing areas for units.
The median unit price in Corio has increased 20.6 per cent in the past year to $258,000.
That is a massive turnaround on the previous year when Corio prices fell 3.5 per cent and the median unit price was $205,000.
Harcourts, North Geelong agent Joe Grgic said there was a lot of interest from investors, first-home buyers and downsizers for units and townhouses in Corio and Norlane.
“There are strong rental returns and a lot of people want something low maintenance so they can spend time doing things that they want to do,” Mr Grgic said.
He said there was an influx of property with the New Norlane project and it was affordable so it held the market back.
“That’s now completed and there are a stack of new units and townhouses built in the area ... we are playing a bit of Median Capital price growth Corio $258,000 20.6% Herne Hill $262,500 17.7% Norlane $275,000 17.0% Newcomb $300,000 10.7% Lara $318,750 9.5% Hamlyn Heights $359,000 9.5% Geelong West $378,000 8.3% Grovedale $334,250 7.8% Bell Park $342,500 7.0% Whittington $225,000 6.6% Suburb catch-up now,” Mr Grgic said. He said both new and old units were popular.
“A lot of people are renovating and updating them and often they will have a good space to them,” he said.
“Developers these days are really trying to maximise a site, what used to be a two-lot site will now be a three-lot site.”
McGrath, Geelong agent David Cortous said 1970s and 1980s-style units only stayed on the market for a week or two, especially in Belmont.
Mr Cortous said McGrath was now taking more units to auction because of demand.
No. 2/53-55 Mt Pleasant Rd, Belmont sold at auction recently for $387,500, more than $50,000 above reserve.
Another unit in the same complex, No. 7, has now hit the market and will go to auction on May 26 with price hopes of $330,000-$360,000.
Mr Cortous said people could easily renovate olderstyle units, add value and turn them over or fix them up a bit and rent them out.
“They are good value, younger people can get into the market and they always rent well for investors,” he said.
Some properties are selling before they even hit the market because of demand.
Mr Grgic recently sold 8a Sladen St, Hamlyn Heights off-market for $590,000 to Melbourne buyers.
Vendor Narelle Knezevic and her husband, along with another couple, bought the property in Hamlyn Heights a couple of years ago.
Records show 8 Sladen St sold for $283,500 in 2015.
They then demolished the existing house and built two three-bedroom townhouses on the site, each couple keeping one townhouse.
Mr Knezevic said the vendors received an excellent offer before it was listed for sale, so decided to take it.