Bargains in the boom By Gil King, Ceo Reiv

BARWON Heads remains home to regional Victoria’s most expensive real estate, but it has not yet cracked the million-dollar mark and is sitting at $957,500, having increased 2.3 per cent in the 12 months to 31 March 2019.
The latest Real Estate Institute of Victoria figures show that another holiday haven, the surf mecca of Torquay, is sitting in second place with a median house price of $845,000 with values also going up in the past 12 months, by 7.6 per cent.
The Geelong suburb of Newtown has also recorded positive growth, of 4.7 per cent over the past 12 months, to give it the third most expensive median house price in regional Victoria of $830,000.
Gisborne, Woodend, Geelong West, Ocean Grove, Highton, Inverloch and Kyneton rounded out the top 10.
The most expensive house to sell in country Victoria so far in 2019 was a six-bedroom, four-bathroom masterpiece with its own pool and waterslide that changed hands for $6.3 million in March.

For those on more restricted budgets, Gippsland is the place to house hunt. The most affordable houses are in Morwell, Churchill and Moe. Morwell’s median house price is $173,000, having dipped 1.4 per cent in the past 12 months, Churchill’s is not far behind at $183,500 after a 1.9 per cent annual increase in the median and third on the list is Moe at $208,500, up 12.7 per cent in the past 12 months.
Stawell recorded a 17.8 per cent increase in its median house price in the last year to $210,000, followed by Ararat with a 4.7 per cent increase to $212,500. Other affordable country post codes included Red Cliffs, Horsham, Portland, Maryborough and Newborough.
The bargain by so far this year was a three-bedroom house in Kerang which sold for $67,000 in March.
As the State’s peak body for real estate agents, with around 80 per cent of agencies being valued members, the REIV is uniquely placed to access this raw data which is not subject to interpretation, speculation, assumptions or third-party sources.
You can research the median house price in your area on the REIV website, at reiv.com.au/market-insights.