Quick sale of Geelong West dual home shows outside demand

The house at 27 Ann St, Geelong West, sold prior to auction.

Geelong buyers need to get off their hands if they’re going to be a chance against growing number of Melbourne and Sydney purchasers looking to make the most of the region’s impending rise.

The warning came amid further evidence that property investors were increasingly back in town looking for properties that can deliver long-term returns.

A classic Geelong West property with future development upside was snapped up by an international buyer with links to Geelong for $882,000.

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Gartland Geelong agent Lisa Emanuel said a Sydney-based investor was the underbidder for the four-bedroom property at 27 Ann St, which sold in the days prior to the auction, scheduled for last weekend.

Local builders and other locals seeking an investment made inquiries in the property, which was converted from private sale to auction as significant interest emerged.

Ms Emanuel said interstate investment interest in Geelong was rising exponentially.

“My email inbox is being bombarded by buyers advocates. Last year I was dealing with maybe the local buyers advocates, plus another two or three more from interstate. Now I’m dealing with probably 35 advocates.”

Inside the main house at 27 Ann St, Geelong West.

The sharp interest from interstate means local buyers were missing out.

“I’m finding that Geelong buyers are in a sense sitting on their hands a little too much,” she said.

“It’s because you can’t buy a $500,000 house in Newcastle any more, and definitely can’t buy it in Sydney.

“There’s only one way that Geelong is going to go, long term, and it’s going to follow the trend of what happened in New South Wales, so you don’t have to convince them.

“It’s a long-term investment strategy, so they’re adding to portfolios and looking for certain types of properties and they can see the opportunity very clearly.”

Ms Emanuel said the owners of 40 years had maintained the property as an investment, leasing out both dwellings.

It’s a premium block with only one fenced neighbour, she said.

“There’s the street at the back where the oval is, Kildare St and then Ann St, so it has a lot of opportunities, long term, for subdivision of development.

“You could develop it to have three street-facing townhouses, or you could subdivide and put a street-facing house on the back, as the one next door has done.”

A local investor snapped up the four-bedroom house at 3 Barwarre Rd, Marshall.

Jellis Craig Geelong agent Jeff Begg said four bidders, including an interstate buyer on the phone, contested a four-bedroom Marshall property.

Listing agent Kelly Dawson said the auction went indoors at 3 Barwarre Rd amid teeming rain, but it failed to dampen the spirited bidding.

But a local investor ended up securing the property for $638,000.

“It was an encouraging sign – we had an online bidder who registered from Sydney and the other group was from Melbourne but the people that bought it is a local that just purely bought it as an investment opportunity,” Mr Begg said

The family-sized house is located just off Barwon Heads Rd, where it presented two living areas, including a main open-plan zone, four bedrooms and two bathrooms.

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