House prices have declined in several regional Victorian towns as workers return to Melbourne offices, reversing the steep rises seen during the pandemic. Areas like the Alpine, Hepburn, Surf Coast and Macedon Ranges have experienced falls of between 4.8% and 7.1%, while Colac Otway Shire saw the largest drop at 13.3%. Experts attribute the decline to the influx of people seeking tree-change lifestyles during lockdowns and the subsequent return to urban centers. Despite the falls, regional Victoria's overall median house price recorded its first quarterly gain of 2024.
House prices are lower than a year ago in a string of regional Victorian towns that have been losing steam as workers return to their Melbourne offices.
“It was an interesting dynamic with the pandemic which saw the further-flung lifestyle coastal locations that saw strong rates of price growth, probably abnormally so,” she said. Despite the falls, regional Victoria’s overall median house price recorded its first quarterly gain of 2024, up 1.8 per cent in the December quarter to $575,000.“That result is actually quite a change, as we know that Victoria overall was really seeing more muted conditions in comparison to other states and territories, especially regional Vic,” Powell said.Director of Great Ocean Road Real Estate Darren Brimacombe, who services the Colac Otway Shire, said he had noticed a shift.
KPMG’s director of planning and infrastructure economics, Terry Rawnsley, said that without the same influx of migrants into regional areas, house price affordability was improving. “Now because of the Airbnb tax and the land tax a lot of people are putting their properties on the market, and with good stock levels and extended periods on the market it shows that the prices aren’t meeting the market,” he said.
HOUSE PRICES REGIONAL VICTORIA MELBOURNE PANDEMIC TREE CHANGE
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