Two pandemic-proof Victorian regions have been named among 10 Aussie real estate markets offering the best buys.
Leading real estate researcher Terry Ryder selected the Mornington Peninsula and Bendigo among “the pick of the crop” for buyers seeking steady capital growth over the long term. No. 26 Hilltop Avenue (above) is for sale in booming Blairgowrie, with a $2.575m-$2.832m price guide.
The pair joined Queensland’s Moreton Bay, Toowoomba, Logan City and Bundaberg, New South Wales’ Blacktown City and Orange, South Australia’s Port Adelaide Enfield and Western Australia’s Rockingham City on the list.
“They’re locations with identifiable drivers of demand for real estate, which will place
pressure on prices and rents,” Mr Ryder said in his Best Buys 2021 report.
“We expect them to show growth not only in 2021, but well beyond.”
These drivers included improved or improving transport, education and medical infrastructure, plus “ugly duckling” suburbs with potential to “transform into real estate swans”, access to jobs, lifestyle drawcards, and potential as sea- or tree-change targets.
In his report, Mr Ryder labelled the Mornington Peninsula “one of Melbourne’s most resilient markets” for recording rising sales activity throughout 2020, when most of the city’s real estate sectors “languished” amid COVID-19 lockdowns.
Snap up 11 Hillcrest Drive, Tootgarook, for $690,000-$750,000.
Drawcards for the region included improved transport links to the CBD via Peninsula Link and EastLink, and lifestyle perks like beaches, wineries, parks, galleries and eateries.
Parts of the region also retained affordable house markets, even after recent price growth.
And the Peninsula was set to be further boosted by investment in education, health and other services and infrastructure under the Victorian Government’s Plan Melbourne, Mr Ryder found.
“Both the high-end and the affordable house markets are sparking, leading to solid price growth in many suburbs,” he said.
The area’s top annual growth suburbs for houses were Blairgowrie (up 26 per cent to $1.155m), Tootgarook (21 per cent to $700,000) and McCrae (21 per cent to $960,000), while Dromana headed the pack for unit gains (21 per cent to $630,000).
No. 10 Grattan Street is on the market in North Bendigo, with a $640,000-$670,000 price guide.
Mr Ryder identified Bendigo as “one of the leading growth markets in Australia”, having become a target for buyers from Melbourne and other parts of the country.
Recent accolades included being named by RMIT University as one of Australia’s most liveable regional cities, and by PRDnationwide as one of the nation’s most resilient markets, his report said.
Affordability was a huge lure for Bendigo, with houses in the city typically priced below $400,000, despite double-digit gains in most postcodes.
Attractive rental vacancy rates below 1 per cent in most suburbs, an unemployment rate “well below the national average”, and good transport links to Melbourne that were boosted by the $5bn Regional Rail Link furthered the appeal of Bendigo.
The city’s best annual performers for houses were North Bendigo (up 19 per cent to $375,000), Epsom (18 per cent to $430,000) and Heathcote (16 per cent to $390,000).