Soft start to Geelong spring selling season puts buyers in box seat
A slower than usual start to the spring selling season has seen Geelong’s property market downturn stretch into its 30th month.
PropTrack’s latest Home Price Index shows a 1.13 per cent, or $8600, drop in median house values to $764,000 at the end of September.
While the falls were softer than the previous quarter, annually values across the region are still down 3.94 per cent on the back of another weak winter.
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PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh can’t see an end to the downturn just yet.
PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh said Geelong’s median dwelling value, covering both houses and units, had now been trending downwards since April 2022.
“I would say that prices have been in a downturn in Geelong for the past 30 months,” Ms Creagh said.
“There have been months where prices have risen, but looking at the trend it’s been going down for the last 30-odd months.”
She said that the key reasons behind the declines were an abundance of homes for sale, in part due to investors selling up in response to increased land tax, as well as weaker demand from buyers compared to during the pandemic.
Geelong’s unit market proved more resilient to these pressures, recording a 0.55 per cent uptick in values in the past three months.
Townhouses like this on at 1B Frank St, Newtown, which sold in four days for $1.15m, are still popular.
2/100 Mount Pleasant Rd, Belmont just sold for $660,000.
Buyers’ search for affordability underpinned demand for townhouses and units, which have dipped just 0.08 per cent to a median value of $548,895 since last September.
Ray White, Highton agent Sean O’Brien said Geelong’s spring selling season was off to a far slower start than previous years.
But he said unit sales had been a standout performer.
“The townhouse/unit market is absolutely flying. It’s all about liveability for people, the price point being the main one but also that lock up and leave lifestyle,” Mr O’Brien said.
“People don’t want the maintenance and the upkeep, they don’t want a big family home unless they’ve got a need for it.”
He said while the right houses were still selling for a premium, vendors needed to nail their presentation in the current buyers’ market.
“You want the house to be an absolute standout in the market when competition is as hot as what it is you, you need your property to stand out,” he said.
The rarity of 21 Carnarvon Ave, Jan Juc, saw it sell for $3.301m in September, $1m over reserve.
Melbourne buyers were prepared to pay a suburb record of $1.5m for this large property at 132-136 Matthews Rd, Corio.
Ms Creagh said while it was unlikely Geelong’s housing market fortunes would improve in the next few months, values could lift when the Reserve Bank began to provide clearer indications of when it would cut interest rates or if the number of homes for sale declined substantially.
The PropTrack index shows regional Victoria recorded the largest fall of all regional areas nationally, with values dropping 1.32 per cent as the post-Covid correction continued.
While national home prices lifted 0.04 per cent overall in September, and now sit 5.67 per cent higher than a year ago, Melbourne again saw prices fall 0.31 per cent for the month.
Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane spearheaded the growth across the country.
Ms Creagh said more choice for buyers and more balanced construction rates relative to population growth in Victoria were keeping a lid on price momentum.
