By STEFAN BRADLEY
GIPPSLAND’S lifestyle appeal and relative affordability has led to a doubling of home buyer inquiries in several Gippsland towns in just a year, new data suggests.
Insights from realestate.com.au shows a surge in buyer demand across regional Victoria, with several Gippsland towns – Moe, Nyora and Yallourn North – ranking among the state’s top performers.
The figures track buyer enquiries over the 12 months to July, show that affordability and lifestyle are driving more people to look away from inner Melbourne and into outer-metro markets and the regions. The data excludes suburbs and towns with fewer than 30 listings.
For houses, Nyora in South Gippsland recorded the second-highest jump in Victoria, with buyer enquiries up a massive 142 per cent year-on-year (YoY). The town’s median house value now sits at $927,000, making it the most expensive suburb or town in Victoria’s top 10 for house enquiry growth.
Yallourn North claimed sixth place, with a 115 per cent increase in buyer enquiries over the same period, with a median price of $413,000.
In the unit market, Moe was sixth across Victoria, with a median price of $298,000, a 90 per cent change YoY.
REA Group Senior Economic Analyst, Megan Lieu, said the strength of Gippsland’s housing market aligns with broader regional trends.
“Nyora, Yallourn North and Moe both sit within the Latrobe-Gippsland SA4, which ranked among the state’s top five regions for annual price growth in July,” she said.
“Therefore, their increase in buyer enquiries is aligned with the region’s broader demand trends.
“Regional areas, like Gippsland, tend to offer lifestyle appeal as well as relative affordability. Homes are priced well below what is typically seen in Melbourne and at a time when housing affordability is near record lows, many buyers are being drawn to the regions.
“This is evident when we look at migration data. There are net positive inflows into Regional Victoria from Melbourne, meaning that more people are choosing to move to regional areas.”
Ms Lieu said that buyer enquiries include activities such as email, phone reveals, document downloads, SMS to agents, click to download, click to call and submit inspection requests.
“While they don’t directly translate to sales, they reflect higher-intent interactions with properties compared to searches,” she said.
Statewide, the biggest house enquiry increases were led by Sebastopol (a jump of 163 per cent), Nyora (142 per cent) and Wendouree (131 per cent). For units, Colac topped the national list with a 206 per cent jump, followed by Portland (183 per cent) and Herne Hill (133 per cent).
Regional cities like Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong saw some of the largest increases in buyer demand.
