Capital growth in region
33 BARTON ST For sale: Median house price: Median house price: Heat off in Melbourne but Geelong does well 6 WASHINGTON ST For sale: Median house price: 6 OAKVIEW COURT For sale: Median house price: 23 HUNTINGDON ST For sale: Median house price: Median ho
REGIONAL Victoria has been named the strongest market in Australian real estate, with Geelong one of its best performers.
Hotspotting founder Terry Ryder said even as the Melbourne boom subsided, the state’s regional markets were rising.
“Sales activity in Geelong may not be growing the way it has in the past two years but prices continue to rise strongly,” Mr Ryder said.
CoreLogic data shows 33 Greater Geelong suburbs have had double-digit growth in their median house price in the past year.
Norlane and Corio top the list with 30.2 per cent and 27.9 per cent capital growth.
Buxton agent Ben Riddle said it was an even playing field between buyers and sellers as so much stock had been listed in the past four to six weeks.
“Buyers have never had more choice . . . we have sellers fighting for buyers but three to six months ago buyers were fighting for property,” Mr Riddle said.
He said many properties were passing in, partly due to banking regulations tightening and Melbourne coming off its high quickly.
Geelong recorded a 40.8 per cent clearance rate last week from 49 results, according to CoreLogic.
Mr Riddle said certain price brackets and pockets were tightening but the bottom end of the market was active.
“The cheaper stock is still selling well, it is never going to get any cheaper than it is now,” he said.
McGrath, Geelong, agent Will Ainsworth said the sweet spot was $500,000-$700,000, especially for first-home buyers.
“The buyers from Melbourne have slowed down a little bit with the market in Melbourne coming off so much,” Mr Ainsworth said.
“Some Melbourne buyers have kept their eye back on the Melbourne market and hope to get a decent buy there.
“But there is still a massive number of first-home buyers out there.”
He said there were still some investors looking in the $600,000-$700,000 range but would not go much higher as it meant lower yields.
“Character homes are very popular and especially where there is potential to renovate down the track,” he said. gamble and it paid off, we wouldn’t go back to living in Melbourne now,” Mrs Walsh said.
The couple have decided to stay in the area and are moving to Newtown.
Selling agent Will Ainsworth, of McGrath, said this was your clichéd property in Geelong West.
“Three bedrooms, cosmetically renovated on a decent 506sq m block . . . it fits most of the criteria for what most people are looking for,” Mr Ainsworth said.
The character home will be going to auction on December 8 at 10.30am.