Properties in Melbourne’s regional areas are becoming more than just holiday homes, with areas like the Mornington Peninsula outperforming the metropolitan area.
The newly released Australian Residential Review report from Knight Frank show house prices jumping in the Mornington Peninsula by 8 per cent for the year to the March quarter, with Geelong not far behind with 7.9 per cent.
Both of these regions outperformed Greater Melbourne which recorded a rise in house prices of 6.8 per cent over the same period.
Domain Group chief economist spoke to The Age about the type of buyers snapping up regional property.
“Many of the buyers are coming from areas that have had a strong period of growth,” he said.
“They are cashed up and either downsizing, retiring or looking for that lifestyle.”
Interestingly, real estate agents in the Mornington Peninsula area have given anecdotal evidence of many buyers coming from Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.
These Melbourne buyers are opting for what were once holiday-only spots because their dollar is going so much further.
Andrew Jones is a real estate from Ray White in Mornington and he spoke to The Age about buyers appreciating the value for money in his area.
“I recently sold a house to buyers looking along the Beaumaris and Parkdale area,” he said.
“They sold for $500,000, the best they could find in those suburbs was a 1970s two-bedroom unit, but they bought a nice house in Mornington for the same price.”
