Curlewis tops the state for house hunters

A BELLARINE real estate agent says if he had been told last year that Curlewis had the state’s biggest increase in buyer demand, he probably wouldn’t have believed it.

However, since pandemic restrictions started easing and buyers had a chance to look around the Bellarine, interest in Curlewis has grown dramatically and Bellarine Property’s Lee Martin can understand why the booming water’s edge community has received the title.

The REA Group announced this week that increased demand was highest for Curlewis properties based on average views per property listing on realestate.com.au.

The data showed Curlewis was experiencing a 208 per cent annual increase in buyer interest, making it one of the hottest regional housing markets based on demand.

The Surf Coast hamlet of Anglesea was another standout local performer.

“Interest has really picked up, particularly the last three months,” Mr Martin said of the Curlewis property market.

“I’ve sold eight in the last three months in Curlewis and about 15 this year so far.

“There’s a fair mix with the people looking to buy; a bit of upsizing and downsizing and a lot of Melburnians, particularly couples looking to get out.

“They look at Ocean Grove and then look at Curlewis and they don’t get the disparity in the prices – ‘why would we pay so much more when we could have a house on the Bay?’.

“You can have a north-facing block with water views.”

But the local agent said as the understandable demand increased, availability was limited.

“The development is only about eight years old and still getting established, but there’s hardly any land left and if you’re after titled land there are really only three to five options – pre-COVID there were 40 to 50 options,” he said.

Mr Martin said prices were still affordable compared to other areas of the Bellarine, and Curlewis offered a mix of residences, with predominantly three-or-four bedroom homes for $550,000 to $800,000.

He said he expected demand would continue to increase and, while there was plenty of land to the west of the existing Curlewis estate, rezoning would be required which would potentially take years.

The local agent said the news was all positive for the Bellarine which was well placed for growth with great wineries, cafes and infrastructure which had “almost been ahead of demand”.