In figures recently released by Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV), the median price of a house in regional Victoria climbed to an all-time high of $636,500.<\/p>\n
So what do you get for $636,500 in regional Victoria?<\/p>\n
REIV regional director Damian Portaro said that depended on where you were looking to buy.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Damian Portaro says investors are looking to regional Victoria to buy rental properties. (Supplied: Ray White Real Estate)<\/p>\n
But regardless of location, Mr Portaro said the rising average house price in regional centres was being driven by investors looking to buy a rental property, not people looking to purchase somewhere to live.<\/p>\n
“It’s buyers’ advocates and investors that have come back into Victoria that have led [to] growing prices,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Investors left the market during COVID \u2026 and they’ve come back in and have focused on regional Victoria [because] it’s far more affordable than Melbourne \u2014 you get more bang for your buck, and you get a far better return [on a rental property].”<\/p>\n
But regardless of market forces, what you get for your $636,500 can look very different from place to place.<\/p>\n
Mildura<\/p>\n
The average house price in Mildura is $515,000, so the regional Victorian median of $636,500 could get you a brand spanking new four-bedroom\/two-bathroom home in new estates on the city’s fringes, such as Bluebell Court and Regunyah Way.<\/p>\n
“$600,000 is buying you a four-bedroom home, ensuite, brick veneer [in a] newer area, fairly modern,” Mr Portaro said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A new home in a new area of Mildura is within reach of the regional Victorian median house price. (Supplied: One Agency)<\/p>\n
But that gap between Mildura’s average and the regional Victoria average is smaller than it has ever been, with prices steadily rising in the north-western city over the past five years.<\/p>\n
“Houses that I was selling [in Mildura five years ago] for $350,000, I’m now selling for over $500,000,” said Mr Portaro, who is based in Mildura.<\/p>\n
But one factor keeping prices down was a glut of land, he said.<\/p>\n
“You’ll probably see 300+ blocks of land, and that’s just advertised land \u2014 there are 800-1,000 blocks of land on the market or that are coming.”<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, just up the road from Mildura at Red Cliffs the average house price is $450,000.<\/p>\n
That means the figure of $636,500 could again get you a brand new three-or-four-bedroom\/two-bathroom home in a new estate, or a similar-sized house a couple of minutes out of town on a 6-hectare block.<\/p>\n
Ballarat<\/p>\n
While there are a number of factors affecting the regional Victorian median house price, the bigger markets of Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong are key \u2014 more houses mean more sales affecting the average.<\/p>\n
So unsurprisingly, in the heart of Ballarat, the average house price is almost identical to the regional Victorian median.<\/p>\n
And that figure will predominantly get you two bedrooms, with the bulk of properties under that $636,500 figure at the time of writing being small homes, units and townhouses.<\/p>\n
However, there are a handful of quaint “period” and “heritage” homes with three bedrooms under that regional Victorian median.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A classic period-style home, typical of Ballarat Central. (Supplied: Buxton Real Estate Group)<\/p>\n
Helping drive the Ballarat average is its proximity to Melbourne, and the opportunities it presents for employment and lifestyle as a major centre.<\/p>\n
“When we had the COVID move and people were heading to regional centres and leaving the city, places like Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong were viable options [to commute] \u2014 they still have the benefit of that now,” Mr Portaro said.<\/p>\n
Move further out into suburbs such as Canadian and Soldiers Hill and the average house price drops closer to $400,000.<\/p>\n
In those areas, $636,500 might get you a house-and-land package for a four-bedroom\/two-bathroom in the new Spencer Ridge estate, or a wide range of existing homes.<\/p>\n
Head 40 minutes up the road to Daylesford, where the average house price is $860,000, and it is a very different matter.<\/p>\n
The regional Victorian median will get you a block of land, a one-bedroom unit, or a very select range of houses in varying states of “renovator’s dream”.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A one-bedroom unit in Daylesford, selling for approximately $650,000. (Supplied: McQueen Real Estate)<\/p>\n
Mr Portaro said that places like Daylesford were driven by investors looking to buy properties for short-term rentals that attracted seasonal visitors.<\/p>\n
Coupled with the small number of sales, it made for a fluctuating and volatile average price, he said.<\/p>\n
Warrnambool<\/p>\n
Despite its location on the coast in south-west Victoria, three hours from Melbourne, Warrnambool’s average house price sits around $600,000 \u2014 just below the regional average.<\/p>\n
It means $636,500 will put you in the running for a wide range of houses, from recently renovated five-bedroom homes in the “burbs” to brand new three-bedroom properties in one of the many new estates exploding on the city’s fringe.<\/p>\n
And while other regional city averages dip and dive, Warrnambool’s has remained consistently close to the $600,000 mark for more than three years.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Warrnambool area has had a steady flow of new housing estates spring up in recent years. (Supplied: Ludeman Real Estate)<\/p>\n
Mr Portaro said a steady drip feed of available land could be helping to keep land values constant and higher when compared to places like Mildura where land was plentiful.<\/p>\n
About 15 minutes along the coast in Port Fairy, the average house price jumps to $950,000.<\/p>\n
Bendigo<\/p>\n
After peaking at close to $700,000 two and a half years ago, the average house price in this central Victorian city has dropped to just under $600,000.<\/p>\n
That means the regional median price will get you everything from a three-bedroom fixer-upper with money left for the fixer-upping, 50 hectares of mixed farming land, or a quaint “beautifully restored” two-bedroom house in the suburb of Quarry Hill.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A Bendigo property listed on the market for less than $600,000. (Supplied: McKean McGregor Real Estate)<\/p>\n
Head 40 minutes closer to Melbourne, and you will find Castlemaine, where the average house price is $740,000.<\/p>\n
Wodonga<\/p>\n
REIV data shows the cost of Murray River living is on the rise, with the average house price in Wodonga edging past $600,000 for the first time earlier this year.<\/p>\n
“Albury-Wodonga buyers are coming from both Melbourne and Sydney,” Mr Portaro said.<\/p>\n
“Also the Albury side doesn’t have much development land so that keeps land prices high.”<\/p>\n
But a budget of $600,000 will still provide plenty of options in Albury’s southern sibling.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Wodonga’s property market has plenty of options for below the regional Victorian median price. (Supplied: Project Delivery Co.)<\/p>\n
More so than many other regional centres, the regional Vic median will get you a wide range of properties \u2014 from two-bedroom townhouses to well-located three-bedroom properties in quiet courts, from spacious houses with a pool out the back to a brand new house-and-land package of your choice.<\/p>\n
Drive for an hour or so south through the valleys of the Mount Buffalo and Alpine national parks and you will hit Bright, where the average house price is $1.1 million \u2014 another aberration of regional housing averages.<\/p>\n
Traralgon<\/p>\n
Gippsland is a mixed bag for average house prices.<\/p>\n
About 100 kilometres east of the city (or 2 hours’ drive at peak hour) you will find the bustling and fast-growing towns of Drouin and Warragul, where the average house price sits just above and just below the median regional Vic figure of $636,500 respectively.<\/p>\n
Keep following the Princes Highway east and you’ll hit Morwell (average house price $350,000), Traralgon ($535,000) and Sale ($491,000).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This two-storey home is an example of the range of properties in Gippsland priced at less than $636,500. (Supplied: First National Real Estate)<\/p>\n
Mr Portaro said “position and population” were two of the key factors in Gippsland, with buyers somewhat spoilt for choice.<\/p>\n
“Mildura is interesting because it’s so isolated, whereas there are options [in Gippsland] \u2014 travel 40 minutes and you’re in a bigger centre,” he said.<\/p>\n
Shepparton<\/p>\n
Although house prices are steadily rising in this north-central city, Shepparton’s average house price of $482,250 is still well below the median for regional Victoria.<\/p>\n
That average price is a bit of an illusion though, because Shepparton’s prices are often indicative of the wider area, including places like Mooroopna, Tatura and Katandra.<\/p>\n
Mr Portaro said Shepparton was “a little under-valued” as a result.<\/p>\n
This means the median of $636,500 will still get you a lovely four-bedroom home in Shepparton, but it is not quite the bargain regional centre you might expect.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Damian Portaro says Shepparton’s property market is “undervalued”. (Supplied: Shepparton Real Estate)<\/p>\n
Statewide demand<\/p>\n
While prices fluctuate from place to place, a constant theme was the increase in investment demand, Mr Portaro said.<\/p>\n
The investors and the people working on their behalf to find houses are on the hunt for rental properties, and the regions are the most profitable place to do that.<\/p>\n
“It really is investment demand [driving prices],” he said.<\/p>\n
It is growing in some areas too, especially Mildura, Albury-Wodonga, Ballarat and even Swan Hill.<\/p>\n
“A year ago I sold my first house to a buyers advocate [in Mildura],” Mr Portaro said.<\/p>\n
“It was probably the first in my career.<\/p>\n
“We’ve now got about 160 [buyer’s advocates] on our books \u2014 we’ve gone from zero to 150[-plus] in a year.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In figures recently released by Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV), the median price of a house in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":254950,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,38943,99,150649,116011,10930,7688,150648,53538,4686,1003,27484,11135],"class_list":["post-254949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-average","tag-business","tag-buyers-advocates","tag-home-owners","tag-house-prices","tag-housing","tag-median","tag-mortgages","tag-property","tag-real-estate","tag-regional-victoria","tag-renting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254949\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}