Geelong reaps the rewards of affordable living

It’s a long-standing trend, with Geelong city mayor Trent Sullivan having told SPI last year that the area has “consistently been one of the highest local government areas for population growth”.

Those comments are backed up by Hillbrook’s Tristan Angelini, who has himself commented on “a definite increase in demand for regional property throughout the pandemic, particularly in Geelong”.

In his perspective, of those looking to move out of metropolitan Melbourne, there are many second or third home buyers and older couples whose children have flown the nest.

But what’s driving the trend?

While lifestyle changes and the advent of remote working did cause a spike in migration through the pandemic, Barry Plant Geelong’s director, Tim Palioudis, said above all that, the influx of residents to the region is being driven by the increasing cost of living.

He raised that “affordability across Greater Geelong in comparison to Melbourne is definitely the biggest key driver for migration”.

Highlighting that the cost of living “is simply less in regional areas”, he indicated that property prices aren’t the only expense that people are seeking reprieve from, pointing out that a worker’s daily parking charge is also cheaper away from the city.

With interest in Geelong once again surging, Mr Palioudis is hypothesising that many Melburnians would “now be peeling the pinch” — with recent rate hikes certainly to blame.

Advising that you can buy “some really good real estate” in Geelong, he believes that long-term, the regional hotspot offers a “good” investment.

Illustrating his point, he offered the example of a Port Melbourne family who had sold their Melbourne pad for $1.4 million.

Having now relocated to Geelong, the director pointed out that “for half the price, they now have no mortgage and are living in a very similar heritage-style home, which is in better condition”.

According to data from CoreLogic, the suburb of Geelong’s median house price is currently sitting at $900,000. The median unit price for the area is $665,000.

The weekly median rent is currently sitting at $495 for houses and $450 for units.

In good news for investors, recent analysis from Herron Todd White has shown that the Geelong house market has declined in recent months, but it also raised the fact that the position of a property in relation to public transport links does have an impact on a market’s continued popularity.

In that vein, Geelong is well serviced by Geelong Station and its location on the Warrnambool line, with services departing from the city for Melbourne every 30 minutes. It takes commuters just over an hour to complete the journey from Geelong to Melbourne’s Southern Cross Station.

Beyond the relative affordability of housing in Geelong in comparison to Melbourne, Mr Palioudis expressed the belief that Geelong has “everything the bigger cities have”.

“We have everything the bigger cities have, all the convenience of shopping centres, medical facilities, elite education and employment opportunities, and with Melbourne-city equivalent pay,” he outlined.

“There’s all of that plus minimal traffic, a lower cost of living, a great lifestyle, a country feel, and the extraordinary beauty of the region.”