The median house price in Ballarat has now reached $400,000 for the very first time.
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In figures released by the Real Estate Institute of Victoria today (July 21), house prices in the city went up by 1.3 per cent in the last quarter from a median of $395,000 in March.
The median price is now exactly $400,000, a leap of 10.8 per cent in the past year - outstripping the pace of growth in other regional areas including Bendigo and Geelong.
I think we will see Ballarat continue to grow. There's no sign suggesting Ballarat is going to slow.
- Philip Lee, Ray White Estate Agents
On a more local level, Redan had the fastest growing house prices with a 17 per cent in the past year for the suburbs which had more than 50 sales in the past year. Wendouree was just behind with a rise of 16.8 per cent.
The most expensive median price was in Lake Wendouree at $775,000 followed by Nerrina at $620,000. However, both these suburbs registered fewer than 50 sales over the past year.
Phillip Lee, a director at Ray White Ballarat, said the trend in rising house prices in Ballarat was unlikely to end in the short term.
"The market is still very buoyant," he said. "Since the federal election, people have become more confident now they know where they stand in relation to negative gearing and capital gains tax.
"I think we will see Ballarat continue to grow. There's no sign suggesting Ballarat is going to slow."
He also pointed out that the latest figures confirm Ballarat's house prices as higher than in Bendigo when previously Ballarat prices have been below its central Victorian counterpart.
The median house price in Bendigo now stands at $365,000, a 5.8 per increase in the past year.
Back in 2016, the median Ballarat house price stood at $325,000 compared to $340,000 for Bendigo.
There was a $42,000 spike in median prices in Ballarat in 2018, taking the city's housing costs Bendigo's. The new data suggests that trend is likely to continue.
Mr Lee put the interest in Ballarat down to the city's growing reputation, its closeness to Melbourne and its transport links, as well as the extensive development at GovHub.
When asked whether the house market risked excluding younger people trying to get a foothold on the property ladder, Mr Lee said there were still plenty of affordable properties in the city.
"I don't think [people being priced out of the market] will happen in the short term," he said. "We're still very much affordable."
For Professor Bridget Aitchison, who chairs the Committee for Ballarat's Liveability Project Team, maintaining a wide range of housing is key as Ballarat's population continues to grow.
"We want to retain the character Ballarat has now, but we need to retain the diversity of options.
"We need to have housing at all levels - affordable housing for those on low incomes, as well as diversity of types of houses offered. That diversity is not just character but price point as well."
"We wouldn't want to become a satellite western suburb of Melbourne."
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