Ballarat's real estate market continued to sizzle on the weekend with one house selling to an overseas investor, sight unseen, for $35,000 above the top of the quoted range.
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The three bedroom house at 105 Raglan Street South in Ballarat Central was sold to a Singaporean investor who had a representative bidding at Saturday's auction.
Ballarat Real Estate general manager Allister Morrison said the Californian bungalow drew one of the biggest auction crowds seen this year.
Multiple parties bid on the home, a block from Sturt St, with bids coming in at a rapid pace before the hammer was dropped at a final sale price of $585,000.
Mr Morrison said the sale was indicative of the current state of Ballarat's real estate market.
"At any open house we'll have about 30 people there and the vast majority are investors looking for investment property," he said.
He said there had been some international investors snapping up local houses, but most investors were buying closer to home.
"The out of town marketplace is pretty strong at the moment. There's a lot of Melbourne and Geelong buyers, and a lot of farmers who are buying investment properties because they've had a good year," he said.
While some homes were sold during lockdown after a Facetime or video tour of the property, Mr Morrison said most buyers now were coming to inspect but the market was moving at "a really frenetic pace".
"We've got a number of properties selling within a week - listed on a Wednesday and gone after the first weekend," Mr Morrison said.
Low interest rates and city dwellers keen to live in open spaces following COVID lockdowns were also driving strong demand for acreage properties.
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"Demand for country and lifestyle properties on a few acres is unbelievable. It's really a case of demand totally outstripping supply. There's just not enough on the market and what is on the market is so highly competitive," Mr Morrison said.
"It's frustrating for buyers there's not enough around for them."
