Average down but optimism up

NEW statistics from property experts Domain have indicated that the average sale price of houses in Ballarat have dropped by more than four per cent in the last year.

In the quarter ending December 2023, the median sale price in Ballarat was $555,000 compared to $580,000 at the same time last year.

For units in Ballarat, the decline in price was even sharper with the median dropping more than nine per cent to $351,000 compared to $386,500 in December 2022.

Principal and sales agent at McGrath Ballarat, Daniel Nester, said while there was a drop in the market, there is still no cause for concern.

“The data is printed as the results have occurred, generally speaking, on a 60-to-90-day settlement cycle which means that when statistics are reported they are actually three months old,” he said.

“I think it’s accurate to arrive on a conclusion that in the market we’ve definitely seen a drop in prices from anywhere between five to eight per cent in 2023.

“That was coming off the best market that I’ve ever been a part of in my 18 years of real estate so what I would call that is more of a correction from the market reaching boiling point.”

Director at Harcourts Ballarat, Jarrod Cloke, agreed that the market is still in a great position.

“People forget that we had such a steep increase in pricing over 2021 and 2022 which I think was something around 20 to 25 per cent so in terms of being back five per cent we are still up compared to what we were three of four years ago,” he said.

“I think the only people who are really disadvantaged are the people who purchased at the peak time and are looking at selling now.”

Mr Nester said Ballarat is now seeing an increase in activity and 2024 is looking like a busy year.

“In our agency we had a significant upturn of activity in November and December and in McGrath Ballarat we had our best sales months over the last 18 months of trade,” he said.

“That tells us we’ve bounced from the bottom now and we’re recovering.

“I think it’s maybe the best time to buy now than it will be in the next couple of years.”