Ballarat’s median house price has dropped despite a recent report highlighting the city as one of Australia’s investment hot-spots.
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The Real Estate Institute of Victoria’s March quarter report noted a 3.4 per cent reduction in the median value of homes in Ballarat, down to $280,000.
The value was well down on regional Victoria’s median price of $311,500 and behind Geelong ($390,000), Bendigo ($320,000) and Bass Coast Shire ($395,000).
This comes after influential property magazine Australian Property Investor last week ranked Ballarat at seventh on a list of the “top 100” towns or suburbs to invest in property across Australia.
Ballarat’s top mark was thanks to affordability, population growth, strong employment, healthy rent returns and accessibility to Melbourne, the report said.
REIV CEO Enzo Raimondo said the Victorian residential market continued to record moderate improvements as it recovered ground lost over the last two years.
“There was an increase in buyers in the December quarter which has continued through the first quarter of this year with increased volumes, prices and lower interest rates,” he said.
“There are a number of factors increasing demand; increasing population growth, improved consumer confidence and overall affordability assisted by lower interest rates.”
Mr Raimondo said while Ballarat and Geelong median prices dropped in the last quarter, other centres like
Bendigo enjoyed a slight increase.
“Some centres continue to have short-term fluctuations but the underlying trend is positive,” he said.
“The rental vacancy rate tightened over the quarter from 3.6 per cent in January to 3.3 per cent in March with the lowest vacancies in the Wimmera and Albury/Wodonga.”
jordan.oliver@fairfaxmedia.com