VIC Ballarat Tip: The Capital of Western Victoria

Pretty much what you'd expect with a vacancy rate of 0.7%, long may it continue!

Hoping central properties get an even higher boost. The finished gov hub should give a short, sharp jump in the surrounding area as well. With the population and jobs growth, wonder what we're going to see in terms of the in-fill / medium density that the council are pushing. Around the station, along with it's redevelopment, there's a big (for ballarat) apartment dev in that lot near Haymes from memory, and perhaps along Creswick (Ubran renewal area) might look fairly different in 10 years. Though Creswick devs right are shops and parking rather than residential.

 

Hitting housing gold: Two Ballarat suburbs top price increases in 2018

"The gold rush city had the Midas touch when it comes to house prices in 2018, according to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria.

Wendouree and Golden Point both launched into the top 10 for house price growth during last year. Placing fourth, behind Loch Sport, Wonthaggi and Maryborough, Wendouree had a 25.7 per cent jump in median sale prices, with Golden Point clocking up a 21.3 per cent increase across 2018.

And in October to December, Golden Point experienced a 11.6 per cent increase in house price, the highest anywhere in regional Victoria over three months.

Biggin & Scott Ballarat real estate agent Francesca Nicol said the dramatic increases in Wendouree and Golden Point were because “they’re the only places Melbourne buyers can find period homes in the $300,000 to $400,000 range”.

“Once upon a time that suburb was Soldiers Hill, and now they’re seeing what they get one suburb over for dramatically cheaper,” she said.

“For them, travelling between suburbs can take 30 or 40 minutes in Melbourne, so an extra seven minutes in Ballarat is just laughable.”

Anything north of Eureka Street and the Brown Hill corridor is a massive growth opportunity ... people walk through and see amazing value.

REIV president Robyn Waters said results for Regional Victoria had been strong when compared to inner Melbourne, with buyers looking to snap up more affordable options.

“Our latest data showed some surprise quarterly increases in inland Victoria with Golden Point, Irymple and Daylesford all achieving an uplift of more than nine per cent,” she said.

Ms Nicol said most investors “want period homes” in Ballarat, with two Magpie Street properties in Golden Point selling for more than $600,000 in their first weekends on show.

She said it was “retirees and downsizers” looking at those houses, where high quality renovations, heating and views across the city come for a comparative bargain.

“Ballarat people don’t tend to rate views, but if you come from Melbourne or a capital city, you pay a 10 per cent premium for a view. They look our city through different eyes.

“For the migration to Wendouree, I assume that would be a lot more investor driven, but certainly around Ballarat Grammar, people seem to buy to live there.” "​

 

Yup...anything north of Eureka Street is a massive growth opportunity.

 

South too now with Golden Point going off

 

What about comission housing triangle of wendouree, is that rising at the same rates?

 

I wouldn’t say so, when prices east of Gillies are still reasonable.

 

Ballarat ranked as Victoria's top regional performer with 12 percent 2018 house price growth: REIV

"Ballarat was the top major city regional performer with 12 percent annual house price growth in 2018, according to the REIV.

It outperformed Greater Geelong which recorded 10.8 percent annual house price growth.

Ballarat is Victoria's third largest precinct, only one hour from Melbourne.

Ballarat has a population of just over 100,000 people, with around 27 percent in rental accommodation, with investors attracted yields averaging 4.4 percent on houses and 5.2 percent on townhouses and units.

Despite the well-documented cooling of inner Melbourne house prices in recent months, Ballarat has been on the radar of buyers with low land prices, from $130,000 to $150,000, and full turnkey house & land packages starting from $410,900.

The strong history of Ballarat provides a sought after niche with period housing, particularly 1900 Victorian-era dwellings.

Ballarat has the benefit of an express train service, with those who commute to Melbourne seeing the trip take around 60 minutes.

Increasing numbers of new residents to the city has been fuelling demand with Ballarat experiencing 28 percent growth within the past 24 months due to growing employment opportunities and the regional lifestyle appeal it offers to many city dwellers.

There's been a heightened infrastructure spend with the Victorian Government spending billions including rail upgrades, relocation of government departments and the hospital refurbishment.

Regional Centres.......Annual Change
Greater Geelong..........10.80%
Greater Bendigo............2.10%
City of Ballarat.............12.00%

In mid-2018 the Herron Todd White residential report looked at the prestige market noting it "probably kicks in around the $1 million dollar mark, but things really start to get interesting north of about $1.5 million."

These properties are generally situated in Ballarat Central, Lake Wendouree and Invermay with a smattering in Soldiers Hill, Newington and Buninyong.

In general terms, $1 million to $1.5 million in Ballarat at present will buy you a large fully renovated period dwelling on a block of circa 1,000 square metres.

"If you have more than $1.5 million to $2 million to spend you will be able to get something on Lake Wendouree," the HTW valuer noted.

"It is at this level that the market is considered ultra-prestige."

"The market is being traded mostly by local high net worth individuals and people new to town who have come from markets where the quantum of cash perhaps doesn’t stretch so far. In general purchasers seem to seek high quality locations, with good sized lots and renovated period dwellings."

HTW noted the main drivers of the market are the economic success of Ballarat as a centre.

"This can be measured by population growth, employment growth and perhaps even tourism growth.

"These three measures have performed very well in the past four years and as a result the prestige market has also shown significant growth.

"With further growth in these areas forecast as well as additional local and state government spending, we consider the future growth prospects for the market to be strong.""


​

 

That's a bit sad for me. I am forever hopeful that will change. Rental yields have certainly increased at greater rate than property prices. Hopefully the house values will catch up too.

 

Now that it’s nigh on impossible to buy a non-Sebas Ballarat house for less than 300k, it makes sense to buy in Bendigo - and an increase should follow. That’s how Ballarat prices moved, when people couldn’t buy Geelong houses for less than 300k they started looking in Ballarat.

 

Yes. It is a good time to buy in Bendigo now whilst it's still cheap. It cannot stay in this position for long. Bendigo should see a more marked rise in house prices this year.

In fact the more Ballarat goes up, the better it is for Bendigo, Shepparton and the other major regional towns. As the reduced affordability in Ballarat will only force/encourage home buyers and investors to buy in them.

 

I never thought the Rat would outperform Geelong in such a short timeframe. On the other hand, I am not surprised that much with all the government projects and non-gov development going on. Not meaning to hype, but when those projects finish, I'd say the prices will soar.

 

Housing squeeze continues as rental vacancy remains at record low

"Hundreds in Ballarat are battling through a ‘housing crisis’ as the city’s rental vacancy rate remains at a record low.

The rental vacancy rate in Ballarat dropped to 0.7 per cent in November and remained that rate throughout December, the lowest rental vacancy rate in the state.

It is a drop from 1.6 per cent in December 2017 that concerns many who are searching for a place to call home.

Ballarat’s rental vacancy rate sits well below the regional Victorian total rate of 1.2 per cent and Victorian total rate of two per cent.

REIV chief executive Gil King said a vacancy rate of three per cent was required for a healthy rental market.

“Ballarat is certainly under pressure with not enough properties on the market to meet demand,” he said.

“Regional cities such as Ballarat have been increasingly popular and accessible for people who previously lived in Melbourne’s suburbs because the commute time to the CBD is comparable, they can get more for their money and the culinary and entertainment options rival those found in the city.

“The Victorian property market is under significant pressure at the moment which is damaging investor confidence and stifling investor activity. This is due to a range of factors including tighter bank lending standards, land tax and stamp duty surcharges for foreign buyers, the passing of the Residential Tenancies Act and mooted negative gearing reforms.”

Ballarat Real Estate director Ron Morrison said he expected the demand for rental properties to continue throughout the year as Ballarat’s population grows and more stringent banking regulations make it harder for first home buyers to purchase property.

While renters are encountering increasing difficulties to secure a property in a tight market, they are also facing a rising median weekly cost of rent.

The median weekly rent for a four bedroom home in Ballarat was $390 in December, up from $360 in December 2017, while the rent for two and three bedroom homes in Ballarat rose $10 in the past year.

“I think encouraging investors to buy property is the only way to relieve the demand,” Mr Morrison said.

“It all comes back to supply and demand. If there are more people buying investing properties, it will satisfy the demand and therefore there won’t be such shortage in housing accommodation.”"​

 

<3

That is all!

 

Just a random thought: Has anyone here experienced a doubling-up in value on any of your properties, because of this boom in the current market?

Recent bank valuation, council valuation or automated desktop valuation should do.

 

Some sales are reaching the $500k mark in Ballarat East, but those are usually larger than my place...

Comparables for my property are reaching mid 300s.

 

Ballarat still growing.

"Hobart (7.2 per cent), Canberra (3.4 per cent) and Adelaide (1 per cent) are the only capitals where dwelling values have advanced over the past year.

South-east Tasmania, Ballarat in Victoria and the Riverina region of NSW are also showing above-inflation levels of growth."​

https://www.theage.com.au/business/...lerated-through-february-20190301-p5111t.html

Also, still seeing a lot of social media discussion on how difficult it is to find a rental in Ballarat with people in desperation seeking advice on what to do after numerous failed applications due to multiple applicants for each vacancy.

 

We originally bought in Ballarat (2015) with the theory that buyers would be priced out of Melbourne and come to Ballarat. With Melbourne house prices dropping, is now the time to get out of Ballarat (eg will there be a price drop to follow Melbourne)?

 

As you bought in 2015, I believe you are very happy about the current boom. If you are thinking about exiting now and invest somewhere else to rinse and repeat, it's a good idea too.

If you bought well in 2015, the property should really be positively cash-flow. If you don't actually need to sell, why sell? Rent should look after your holding cost, anyway.

 

I've increased rent in all my IPs between $5 and $10 with lease renewals recently. So that's a good thing from landlord point of view, in terms of vacancy rate and more renters looking for properties.

 

KO KO!! Heyyyy

Just to add to the latest Corelogic updates that everyone been posting - Its now the second top performing sub-region - Yes even now greater growth than Geelong.