Geelong dual-home site sells $115K over odds

The pair of three-bedroom houses at 1-2 Little Richmond St, Geelong, sold for $1.115m at auction.

What do a Sydney investor, a buyer from Queensland and a gentleman from Hawthorn have in common?

They’ve all seen the potential for capital growth in Geelong real estate.

The latest evidence of buyers targeting Victoria’s second city came as a pair of 1950s houses was auctioned for $1.115m.

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The sale well above the $920,000 to $1m price expectations at 1-2 Little Richmond St, Geelong is a further reflection of the fear of missing out on snapping up a comparative bargain as the Geelong region emerges from a two-year downturn in the market.

McGrath Geelong agent Georgie Shaw said the Sydney buyers agent landing the winning bid, edging out the Hawthorn bidder by $5000.

“All the bidders were investors – one from Melbourne, one from Queensland and one from Sydney,” Ms Shaw said.

In fact, nearly 80 per cent of the interest in the property was out of Sydney.

The pair of three-bedroom houses at 1-2 Little Richmond St, Geelong, sold for $1.115m at auction.

The three-bedroom homes offer a good rental yield on top of potential capital growth.

“They have really earmarked Geelong to be a growth spot to be investing in,” she said.

But the property had its own criteria that stood out to buyers.

“The reason it was so popular was it offers a great yield and capital growth,” Ms Shaw said.

“With a lot of investment properties you are holding on for capital gain but not always yield.

“Not on this property, because it had two separate dwellings – both three bedrooms houses.”

The 1111sq m landholding was key to the capital growth, with subdividing and even development further options open to the new owners.

One investor was interested in knocking down the dwellings and building half a dozen townhouses on the site behind Richmond Crescent, she said.

“They were really solid 1950s brick and the land was about 1100sq m so you’re essentially getting two small houses on 500sq m each,” Ms Shaw said.

“You’re getting large grass open spaces, beautiful big trees and a really super-quiet spot where you’re five minutes from the waterfront or from GMHBA Stadium and the train station.

One investor proposed knocking down the homes and building multiple townhouses on the 1111sq m site.

The property is positioned near Richmond Oval, but close to the waterfront, GMHBA Stadium and South Geelong train station.

“And the yield was great, so for an investor they’re getting the rental income from two properties on the block. That’s why the strength was there.”

The property had previously been listed for sale in 2024 at $1.29m.

Recent PropTrack data reveals 3 per cent annual growth to $892,000 for the median house value in the suburb of Geelong, with units pegged at $573,000.

In comparison, the median value of units in Sydney is $874,000, while a typical house value is at $1.6m.

Henning Property director and buyers agent John O’Brien said most investment buyers from interstate are drawn to the comparative value available in Geelong, but also see the future upside.

“There’s a feeling at the moment is there’s a mad rush to get in while the state of recovery is happening in our property cycle and 2026 will be the year that really delivers capital growth,” he said.

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