Making a sea-change to regional Victoria? That’ll be $1 million

  • By Peter Gordon
  • •
  • 23 Aug, 2022

This is a great article about the demand for housing in regional Victoria. It discusses the huge increase in people moving out of the big cities and opting for a tree or sea change, post Covid. 

We recommended Torquay and the Surf Coast to clients before the pandemic hit, so even without that influence, we identified these areas as a great place to invest. We research thoroughly each and every region that we reccommend to our clients. If we wouldn't invest in these areas ourselves, then we wouldn't reccommend our clients invest there!

Victoria’s exclusive “million-dollar club” is growing after two years of tree and sea-changers rushing to regional hot spots to escape COVID-19 lockdowns or buy a holiday home.

Million-dollar median house prices were once the exclusive domain of blue-chip inner-Melbourne suburbs but now include both the popular Surf Coast local government area (LGA) near Geelong, with a $1.45 million median, and the Macedon Ranges, where the median is $1 million, Domain data shows.

Low numbers of houses for sale, and a desire for people to make tree and sea changes have driven regional house prices higher over the past two years, agents say.

But while vendors can cash in, unluckier locals faced with high house prices and rents are being pushed out of their local area or feeling the hit to their cost of living.

Domain chief of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell said suburbs that offered a great lifestyle and an opportunity to travel to the office or work from home were still highly desirable.

“You’ve now got two LGAs above the $1 million mark, and it’s just such a milestone,” Powell said. “It really throws the spotlight on regional Victoria and in particular lifestyle locations where buyers can get a greater parcel of land and a bigger house than you would for the same price in Melbourne.”

By contrast, Melbourne’s median house price is $1,074,369.

When measured by suburb, 11 suburbs outside Melbourne now have a median house price of at least seven figures, jumping from just seven suburbs earlier in the year, Domain data shows.

Barwon Heads has the most expensive median house price in regional Victoria at $1.81 million, up 26.4 per cent in the year to June.

Other seaside towns are also well above seven figures, such as Anglesea (up 37.4 per cent to $1.7 million), Point Lonsdale (up 51.8 per cent to $1.425 million), Jan Juc (up 10.6 per cent to $1.41 million) and Torquay (up 35.8 per cent to $1.305 million).

Further west, Port Fairy recorded a 48.1 per cent annual jump in price to a $1.15 million median.

Neighbourhoods such as Riddells Creek and Gisborne in the Macedon Ranges soared by 37.5 per cent and 19.3 per cent respectively, taking their median prices above the magic $1 million mark.

Other tree-change towns like Bright are also in the club, with a median of $1.175 million, after a massive jump in price of 53.6 per cent over the past 12 months.

Powell said while prices in popular regional areas were strong, the pace of growth was slowing, as the property market across the country shifted gears after a series of interest rate rises.

Separate figures from CoreLogic showed prices fell slightly in some regional areas in the July quarter.

Hayden Real Estate Geelong and Surf Coast director Bryan Hayden said people from Melbourne and other parts of Victoria were still looking to buy into the Surf Coast.

“The market is underpinned by a very vibrant local community who are basically setting the market,” Hayden said. “People from Melbourne find they have to be very, very active to outbid the locals.”

Local buyers were upgrading, or were buying another home for their children or grandchildren, Hayden said, but were also facing the challenge of the shortage of homes for sale.

In Gisborne, which squeaks into the million-dollar club with a median house price of $1.05 million, buyers are still looking for a tree change, and to get better bang for their buck.

Raine & Horne Gisborne director Ken Grech said the market was set alight after Melbourne’s many COVID-19 lockdowns, as people looked to move to an area outside the city limits, where lockdowns were less likely.

Article courtesy Domain 22/8/22

If you're looking to invest in the property market for the first time or are a seasoned investor looking for options, we'd love to chat with you!

Let us assist you and show you opportunities that are available, check out our property page or contact me for a Zoom meeting.
schedule a Zoom Meeting  here 

Introducing The Palms Estate, Cairns - The Northern Beach's Premier Address

By Peter Gordon • April 26, 2023

Quiet simply, the Palms is the place to buy!

The northern beaches of Cairns is the Nation's best location for property investors right now, and The Palms is the premier development in this boom region.

It has the best location being elevated and backing onto the rainforest. It will have amazing facilities with a shopping village, a primary school, parks and green open space, a water park and an expanse of wildlife corridors.

It has taken the developers three years to get planning approval for this unique development to be able to hit the market. There are only 300 lots spread across 85 acres of the best land in The Northern Beaches.  Residents will have an abundance of open space right at their doorstep.  The Palms is also the only Certified Enviro Development project in Far North Queensland.

> Cairns Snapshot

In the rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne, the winner is ... Brisbane

By Peter Gordon • April 20, 2023

Sydneysiders and Melburnians, put aside your equally outstanding flat whites for a moment. Stop bickering about whether great beaches beat cool laneways (they do) and desist from debating whether all baristas require waxed moustaches (ideally).

Because Brisbane is closing in on the title of Australia’s best city, and we must join forces to keep this subtropical upstart in its place.

Time  magazine recently named Brisvegas on its “World’s Greatest Places” list, and omitted our cities. It’s a huge shock (and who knew they still published Time  magazine?). But they might be onto something.

Time  points to the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which will be hosted in the maroon metropolis. Brisbane will do a fine job, even though it’ll baffle the world when rugby league is added to the schedule and Queensland is allowed to field its own team.

Time’s  most radical claim is that Brisbane is worth visiting now, but tourism is surging. Not only did Lin-Manuel Miranda recently drop in to catch Hamilton , but hundreds of Hamilfans flew up to watch his interview with Leigh Sales (presumably unaware that it would subsequently arrive on iView for free).

Incredible Lifestyle At An Affordable Price  Equity of approx $390K on completion

By Peter Gordon • April 6, 2023
This small duplex development just a short drive from Hervey Bay on Queensland’s beautiful Fraser Coast, offers an incredible lifestyle at an affordable price. With unprecedented demand and very limited supply, prices look set to skyrocket.

A leading local agent has appraised each side of these duplex's to be worth $665k on completion and rent for $495 per week. So that is massive potentail instant equity of up to $390K on completion, which is incredibly hard to find.
Show More
Share by: