REIV figures reveal Geelong’s September champions

The four-bedroom house at 11 Heritage Mews, Drysdale, is listed for sale with price hopes from $895,000 to $980,000. The median house price in Drysdale climbed 10.5 per cent in the September quarter, REIV figures show.

Buyer-friendly conditions that are boosting competition for properties is behind a rise to median home prices across Geelong suburbs, new data reveals.

The Real Estate Institute of Victoria September quarter data reveals median house prices climbed in 28 suburbs across Geelong, lead by a 10.5 per cent three-month jump in Drysdale.

The REIV research revealed median house were higher compared to a year ago in 18 suburbs, underlining that the market remained in the early stages of recovery.

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The $762,000 median house price in Drysdale is $56,500 higher than the same time last year, while the other suburbs recording the biggest actual jump in price included Charlemont (up $34,500), Bell Post Hill ($33,500), Hamlyn Heights ($24,500) and Corio ($23,000).

The research also reveals the impact of investors on the market, with suburbs across the north of Geelong witnessing price hikes of between 3 and 4.8 per cent in the quarter, with the city’s central and southern suburbs showing more sedate growth, with Grovedale and Highton rising about 1.5 per cent and Belmont and Armstrong Creek recording no change.

More affordable unit markets showed more uniform growth across the region.

But the region’s four biggest unit markets were split, with 2 per cent growth in Geelong West, and 1.2 per cent in Belmont, while Highton and Torquay showed prices fall, down 2.4 per cent and 6 per cent respectively.

The four-bedroom house at 115 Sladen St, Hamlyn Heights, is listed for sale with price hopes from $699,000 to $759,000.

The three-bedroom house at 20 Hollows Court, Grovedale, is listed for sale with price hopes from $645,000 6o $685,000.

REIV interim chief executive officer Jacob Caine said the latest quarterly date reflects rising Victorian optimism in property markets

Mr Caine said a relative affordability gap had opened up between Victoria and other states as a bigger supply of new housing, coupled with rising taxes and compliance costs on investors, increased the amount of properties on the market had kept a lid on prices.

That gap was big enough to attract new buyers to the state.

“The capital opportunity presented by properties in Victoria has started to prove very enticing for interstate investors and you can see that play out now if you look at the suburbs in Geelong with those really significant quarterly growth,” Mr Caine said.

McGrath Geelong agent David McGuinness said investors have been boosting competition for properties in Geelong.

Suburbs such as Bell Post Hill, Curlewis and Drysdale offered three or four-bedroom houses in the mid $600,000 to mid $700,000 range, he said.

“Those properties are going to provide a really nice rental yield so they’re going to pay for themselves in some respects through the rental income, but they’re also primed to realise that massive capital growth over the long run as well.”

McGrath, Geelong agent David McGuinness said investors were intensifying competition.

“The more bidders we’ve got, the more competition we’ve got, although there is not a lot of stock around,” Mr McGuinness said.

“I’d be expecting a bit more stock in the coming months as there’s a lot of investors out there that have been looking at offloading their stock.

REIV interim chief executive officer Jacob Caine said buyers are seeking value.

“They’ve been hanging on just waiting for the market to pick up a bit.”

Buyers also received a welcome cut to interest rates in August, while the October 1 expansion of the federal government’s Home Guarantee Scheme – which allowed eligible buyers to purchase on a five-per cent deposit but avoid paying lenders mortgage insurance – has also increased competition for housing.

Mr Caine said an anticipated additional cut to interest rates could further accelerate the recovery.

The research shows that house prices climbed 2.7 per cent and 2.5 per cent in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria respectively, with unit prices also recording 2.1 per cent and 1.4 per cent increases.

Regional Victoria’s housing market also continued to climb, with the median price climbing to $636,500, surpassing its previous peak of $624,500 set in March, 2022.

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