• Median house prices of the regional cities of Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo have all reached all-time highs in 2020;
• The vacancy rate for Regional Victoria remains very tight at 1.6%, marginally up from 1.5% a year earlier;
• Regional rent markets have held firmer than the metropolitan area with weekly rental levels for both houses and apartments having risen to all-time highs.

Regional markets have to outperformed the metropolitan area with both median prices and rents hitting or approaching all-time highs. The resilience in regional values can be attributed to a number of factors including the lower price levels than Melbourne coupled with the increasing demand of people relocating out of Melbourne as a result of the pandemic.

Prices

Highlighting the relative resilience of the Victorian regional housing markets is the growth house prices of Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo over the past 12 months. Although the median house price of Regional Victoria recorded a marginal decrease (-0.7%) over the past year, the regional housing sector has outperformed the metropolitan housing market in comparison which recorded a decline of 5% over 2020 alone. Median house prices of the regional cities of Geelong ($560,000), Ballarat ($420,000) and Bendigo ($374,250) have all reached all-time highs in 2020. Urban Property Australia expects that the Regional housing market will outperform the metropolitan housing market in the short term underpinned by the trend of people relocating from the metropolitan area.

Regional House Prices

Vacancy

According to the REIV, as at August 2020, the vacancy rate for Regional Victoria remains very tight at 1.6% (marginally up from 1.5% a year earlier). The vacancy rates of the major Regional Cities also remain very low, led by Bendigo (1.0%), Geelong (2.1%) and Ballarat (2.2%).

Residential Vacancy by Region

Rents

Similar to values, Regional rent markets have held firmer than the metropolitan area. According to the REIV, Regional Victorian weekly rental levels for both houses and apartments have risen to all-time highs. Over the year to August 2020, the weekly median rent for houses in Regional Victorian rose to $360 per week, up from $340 per week a year earlier. Likewise, the weekly median rent for units rose to $300 per week, up from $280 per week a year earlier. By regional city, Bendigo outperformed both Ballarat and Geelong with the weekly median rent for houses up 6% to $340 as at August 2020.

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