The most popular regional Victorian hotspots
Mildura, Gippsland and the Geelong Bellarine regions have seen the most action over the last 12 months, but which suburbs are the ones to look out for?
Data from the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) shows Mildura was the top regional suburb for house and unit sales at 564 and 125 sales respectively, which is nearly 6 per cent of homes.
“We can assume that this strong activity is a product of low interest rates, an invigorated local economy, lifestyle offerings and increased attention from first home buyers, families, investors and retirees,” said REIV’s CEO Gil King.
“The median age of Mildura residents is 39, the median monthly mortgage repayment is $1,231 and most houses are three or more bedrooms.”
In second place was Traralgon with 513 home sales, followed by Morwell at 308 sales, then Warragul at 280, Drouin at 256, Ocean Grove and Highton both at 244, Belmont at 220, Alfredton at 203 and Echuba with 197.
In terms of unit sales, Sebastopol recorded 77 sales, which was then followed by Belmont at 71, then Ocean Grove at 57 and then Highton at 54.
Prices are relatively affordable, Mr King pointed out. For example, the top two most popular locations for houses and units offer prices under $300,000; median house prices in Mildura and Trararlgon are at $270,000 and $292,500 respectively, while unit prices in Mildura and Sebastopol are at $200,000 and $228,000 respectively.
The reasoning behind this popularity is likely to be new first home buyer incentives, Mr King said.
“New Victorian Government incentives for first homebuyers are also likely to have had a positive impact on turnover in regional Victoria. These include the removal of stamp duty for homes less than $600,000 and the doubling of the First Home Owners Grant to $20,000,” he said.
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