VIC Ballarat Boom 2018!

Tenants face tough competition for rental properties

"Rental vacancy rates in Ballarat and region have continued to tighten, creating an extremely tough market for prospective tenants.

Ballarat Property Group director and specialist property manager, Jamie Stephens said his agency currently has a 0.26 per cent rental vacancy and this had been the case for the past six months.

“We manage 1500 rental properties in Ballarat and within a 30km radius of the city and we currently only have 25 properties available,” he said.

“There was a sharp upturn in inquiry at the beginning of the year and we’ve experienced strong demand for rental properties over the past six months, even through winter, with no more than 40 properties available at any one time.”

Mr Stephens said the strong rental demand was a phenomenon he had not previously seen in his 23 years of property management.

Ballarat Real Estate general manager, Allister Morrison said his agency had recorded rental vacancy rates of one per cent for August 2018, compared with 2.3 per cent for the same time last year.

The Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) figures for August 2018 show the official rental vacancy rate for Ballarat as 1.0 per cent, compared with Bendigo at 1.2 per cent and the regional Victoria total at 1.4 per cent.

Mr Morrison said supply was not keeping up with demand and rental prices were increasing accordingly."​

 

With prices rising, and many investors buying, you would expect oversupply to come in to play at some point

 

29 Grammar Street Wendouree Vic 3355 - House for Sale #129180750 - realestate.com.au

Have been doing some open home inspections in the Wendouree area. Last Saturday this property on it's first open had 35 groups through. It was listed at $295k-$320k and the last I heard it was upto $340k. It sold that night. Good area of Wendouree, nice house but a small block. Backyard had been chopped and a new build in the yard.

 

I have beenbeen rresearching ballarat for an IP. Starting to get the vibe that maybe it has run most of its course in terms of this cycle, meaning that it might be too late to get in a achieve owrthwhile CG. Thoughts on this rumour that's going around?

 

thats right, if the ripple effect from Melbourne makes it go up, is will unavoidably makes it go down too, if the ripple is big enough. Treat it with caution.

 

The price differential between Melbourne and Ballarat is so great that a correction in the Melbourne market would not mean that Ballarat would be any less affordable or that the lifestyle offered there would change. Ballarat can get through a shallow Melbourne price correction with continued growth. The only caveat to that is if such a correction came with a large shift in sentiment.

Don't forget all of those first home owner grants for moving to a regional.

 

Nah mate. Not at all. Maybe the only parts of Ballarat that are too late are the lower yield areas of Soldiers Hill, Lake Wendouree and the more upmarket parts of Ballarat Central.

Wendouree also started booming a little while ago.

The eastern Ballarat suburbs (which are the most ideal for Melb travellers) are just beginning to hit their stride now. Out of all the members here on PC that live in Ballarat, from what I gather, most, if not all of us live in Ballarat East or a surrounding suburb.

 

That “some point” is not at the moment for sure. Tenants at one of my IPs are vacating next month. The property is just a 2-bedder in Ballarat North. 21 groups registered and 17 went through the open home. I kept the same rent as before, as I thought it’d be good to have the least amount of vacant period. Should have increased the rent a bit.

So it is in fact undersupplied at the moment. It also makes me think that majority of buyers are FHB, who are priced out of Melbourne market and/or who are taking advantage of first home owner grant for regionals.

 

Ballarat, other regional cities now more liveable than most of Melbourne

"Ballarat is now considered a more liveable option than two-thirds of Melbourne’s local government areas, according to new data.

By looking at 15 different factors including health and education, the report shows Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong are comparatively well connected to critical infrastructure, including rail, roads, internet and mobile coverage.

With each major regional city now acting as a hub for higher education and health services, but providing ‘bang for your buck’ housing affordability, the research states Ballarat is now a better option than much of Melbourne’s high-density living or urban fringe areas."
​

 

107 Eureka Street, Ballarat East, Vic 3350 - Property Details

Hahahahahah oh wow this is good
I seriously haven’t had a smile on my face this big since...ever...


That said, what do people think of this?
58 King Street South, Ballarat East, Vic 3350
Decent looking house, but are these prices the new norm for south of Eureka St? I’d snap this up if it were north of Eureka St however the potential neighbours make me a little apprehensive...

Edit: there was also a very quick sale of a very unimpressive house on Princes St Sth. $340k for a 2 bedder with a very ‘minimalist’ ‘cosy’ kitchen. https://www.realestate.com.au/property/9-princes-st-s-ballarat-east-vic-3350

 

This is only anecdotal I know, but I often see people post on Facebook's Ballarat Buy, Swap & Sell page looking for rental properties urgently. They are then inundated with replies reinforcing how hard it is to get a rental, with people recounting stories of repeatedly missing out on properties etc.

 

We had 17 groups go through. Quantity over quality....

 

125 Eureka Street, Ballarat East, Vic 3350

Hmmmm...