By TOM GANNON
REAL estate market experts say now is the time if you are looking to sell in Latrobe City after the region recorded its strongest annual rate in price growth since 2011.
Data from Domain shows median house prices in Latrobe have shot through the roof during the past 12 months with a 14.9 per cent increase from June 2020.
Go back even further and prices have climbed 48 per cent across the local government area since 2016.
The median house price in the Latrobe Valley has risen from $229,500 in June 2016 to $339,000 in June 2021.
Standout performers include Newborough which has experienced the fastest increase in house prices of any Latrobe locality with an impressive 28 per cent annual growth in the median price for two bedroom houses and a 24.1 per cent annual growth for three bedroom houses.
Moe has also felt this rise with a 20.2 per cent growth in the median price for a three bedroom house growing from $233,000 to $280,000 in the past 12 months.
These rises have seen Moe and Newborough included in realestate.com.au’s best 30 investor locations for Regional Victoria.
This increase in price across Latrobe City mirrors a trend seen in other parts of regional Victoria, which has experienced a large increase during the past 12 months.
And it shows no sign of stopping with other regional areas such as Ballarat (23.8 per cent) and Geelong (22.5 per cent) experiencing sharp increases in the past quarter alone.
Domain’s chief of Research and Economics Dr Nicola Powell attributed the price rise in Latrobe City as well as regional Victoria to the impacts of COVID-19 as city dwellers who set their sights on a tree change pounced once lockdowns were temporarily lifted at the tail end of last year.
“What we are seeing is the pace of growth is increasing, now there are a number of factors driving this, we’ve got ultra-low interest rates and we’ve also seen a pandemic which has almost been a key to opening up affordable housing for people who are residing in our bigger cities and what it has meant is we’ve seen this mass exodus by city dwellers,” she told The Express.
“I think people made their decisions to buy property last year because we have all been in and out of lockdowns, once you’ve decided to purchase a home you don’t necessarily change your mind because it’s such a big ticket item to purchase and such a big decision to make and I think what we’ve seen is those decisions have been delayed and they’re coming to the market in 2021.”
Despite the increase in price across the 2010s and the spike in the recent year, Dr Powell is confident these prices won’t continue to rise as rapidly and may begin to level out in the near future.
“The quarterly growth is normally quite modest and it’s very unusual to see strong rates of growth above five per cent for Latrobe, so to have a 7.6 per cent jump in one quarter is unusual so I’m not expecting that pace of growth to remain,” she said.
“I’m expecting prices will continue to rise but not necessarily at that rate of growth that we’ve seen in this most recent quarter.”
The past 12 months has likely been a shock for many long-time residents used to much less intense growth.
Dr Powell’s message for locals looking to buy close to home is to remain flexible and be willing to go for more affordable options.
“If you’re a (Latrobe City) local and you’re trying to get into the market with rising prices, what that means is that you may be pushed to a neighbouring suburb that’s slightly further out to get a lower price point or the alternative is a different type of property like a townhouse,” she said.
Although the market is clearly in favour of those looking to sell, Dr Powell has some tips for others who are looking to make a move in the direction of the Valley.
“I think for buyers, when you’re trying to purchase in a rising market, particularly if the market doesn’t usually rise as rapidly as we have seen so far this year is to set budgets and keep within that budget,” she said.
“I think it’s important to factor in future interest rates hikes, not to over extend yourself, stick to your budget and not to get emotionally attached to a participial home which means you over extend, we will see more listings come on, the supply will increase and the conditions will become better for buyers eventually.”
The trend of city dwellers wanting to move to greener pastures and settle in regional areas isn’t exclusive to Victoria or even the rest of the country as Dr Powell reports similar patterns in other parts of the world.
“From my understanding other major cities are seeing an uplift in price, I know the UK has and what they are also seeing is a preference towards houses, large homes and also movement into the country areas of the UK which is exactly what we are seeing here, the trends are similar to what is being reported in other cities around the world as well as this general uplift in property prices,” she said.
Moe
The median price of a two bedroom house in Moe has risen 11.9 per cent from this time last year, the median price in 2020 was $201,000 from 20 sales and is now $225,000 from 35 sales with an average of 69 days on the market (51 percent price rise since 2017).
The median price of a three bedroom house in Moe has risen 20.2 per cent from this time last year, the median price in 2020 was $233,000 from 105 sales and is now $280,000 from 125 sales with an average of 43 days on the market (43.5 per cent price rise since 2017).
Moe has seen significant growth in the unit market with two bedroom unit prices rising by 16.8 per cent from this time last year, the median price in 2020 was $143,000 from 16 sales and is now $167,000 from 16 sales, this is surprising as two bedroom unit prices declined 10.1 per cent in 2020 and 3.6 per cent in 2019, the average time spend on the market is 138 days (21.9 per cent price rise since 2017).
Newborough
The median price of a three bedroom house in Newborough has risen 24.1 per cent from this time last year, the median price in 2020 was $253,000 from 94 sales and is now $314,000 from 97 sales with an average of 37 days on the market (40.1 per cent price rise since 2017).
The median price of a four bedroom house in Newborough has risen 17.8 per cent from this time last year, the median price is 2020 was $338,000 from 33 sales and is now $398,000 from 26 sales with an average of 38 days on the market (22 per cent price rise since 2017).
Traralgon
The median price of a two bedroom house in Traralgon has risen 24.9 per cent from this time last year, the median price in 2020 was $229,000 from 55 sales and is now $286,000 from 64 sales with an average of 133 days on the market (48.9 per cent price rise since 2017).
The median price of a three bedroom house in Traralgon has risen 10.7 per cent from this time last year, the median price in 2020 was $300,000 from 307 sales and is now $332,000 from 425 sales with an average of 119 days on the market (10.6 per cent price rise since 2017).
The median price of a four bedroom house in Traralgon has risen 7.1 per cent from this time last year, the median price in 2020 was $425,000 from 170 sales and is now $455,000 from 222 sales with an average of 92 days on the market (7 per cent price rise since 2017).
Traralgon East
The median price of a three bedroom house in Traralgon East has risen 14.1 per cent from this time last year, the median price in 2020 was $418,000 from 10 sales and is now $477,000 from 11 sales, no data regarding days on the market or median price increase from 2017 was available.
The median price of a four bedroom house in Traralgon East has risen 22.8 per cent from this time last year, the median price in 2020 was $505,000 from 12 sales and is now $620,000 from 20 sales with an average of 217 days on the market, signalling a lack of competition in this area (34.7 per cent price rise since 2017)
Boolarra
The median price of a three bedroom house in Boolarra has risen 16.1 per cent from this time last year, the median price in 2020 was $248,000 from 10 sales and is now $288,000 from 12 sales with an average of 25 days on the market (no data regarding the median price increase from 2017 was available).
Churchill
The median price of a three bedroom house in Churchill has risen 22.3 per cent from this time last year, the median price in 2020 was $197,000 from 64 sales and is now $241,000 from 94 sales with an average of 154 days on the market (30.2 per cent price rise since 2017).
The median price of a four bedroom house in Churchill has risen 22.7 per cent from this time last year, the median price in 2020 was $269,000 from 20 sales and is now $330,000 from 21 sales with an average of 300 days on the market, one of the less competitive markets in Latrobe (24.5 per cent price rise since last available data in 2018).
Yallourn North
The median price of a three bedroom house in Yallourn North has risen 5.8 per cent from this time last year, the median price in 2020 was $208,000 from 12 sales and is now $220,000 from 18 sales with an average of 150 days on the market (25.7 per cent price rise since 2017).
Morwell
The median price of a two bedroom house in Morwell has risen 10.4 per cent from this time last year, the median price in 2020 was $163,000 from 17 sales and is now $180,000 from 44 sales with an average of 152 days on the market (5.2 per cent price rise since 2017).
The median price of a three bedroom house in Morwell has risen 9.3 per cent from this time last year, the median price in 2020 was $215,000 from 147 sales and is now $235,000 from 251 sales with an average of 116 days on the market (30.5 per cent price rise since 2017)
The median price of a four bedroom house in Morwell has risen 5.3 per cent from this time last year, the median price in 2020 was $265,000 from 60 sales and is now $300,000 from 69 sales with an average of 296 days on the market (25 per cent price rise since 2017).
