Ballarat's rental price has once again risen across the past 12 months, according to a recent industry report.
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Data presented in Domain's December 2019 Rental Report states Ballarat's median rental price has increased over the past 12 months by 4.5 per cent, from $330 a week to $345 a week.
This followed the trend across the Western region, with Bendigo and Geelong each experiencing similar rises.
Over the past five years, Ballarat's median rental price has increased by over 23 per cent, a trend which one real estate agent said would continue due to the increasing number of Melbournians looking to jump on the region's relatively cheap rental prices.
Buxton property manager Jacinta Gray told The Courier because of the relative convenience of V/Line, Melbourne city workers see Ballarat as a great option to live.
"The price has been rising steadily over the past few years as more people from both Melbourne and the country have moved to Ballarat," she said.
"Melbournians realised it's cheaper to live here and commute to work from Ballarat compared to finding a home closer to the city."
Mrs Gray said she expects the price of rental properties to continue to rise as Ballarat's infrastructure and public transport continues to improve.
"It's only going to continue to go up as more people move here and our infrastructure continues to improve."
She said major transport upgrades, such as the proposed airport rail link, which could reduce the commute from Ballarat to Southern Cross Station to under a hour, would drive even more people to the region.
"I think if the travel time between Melbourne and Ballarat reduced even further the region's rental market would become even more competitive than it is now... the number of people coming in would be huge."
Ballarat's median house price remains lower than Greater Dandenong, Whittlesea, Casey, Maroondah and Knox, despite travel times into the CBD being relatively similar.
While more people may be looking to move to Ballarat, the lack of properties remains an issue for prospective renters.
The rental vacancy rate currently sits at 1.76 per cent, according to realestateinvestar.com.au. This is more than double that of November 2018, whien the rate dropped to 0.7 per cent.
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