Golden Square – Suburb by suburb snapshot

The size of Golden Square is approximately 8.5 square kilometres and has six parks covering nearly 1.6 per cent of total area.

The population in 2011 was 8301 people and by the 2016 Census it had risen to 8814 showing a growth of 6.2 per cent in the area during that time.

Golden Square is a about two kilometres west of Bendigo’s city centre, with Bendigo Creek and some of its tributaries flowing through Golden Square, and it was in that vicinity in 1851 that gold was discovered, leading to the rushes to the Bendigo goldfields.

A village or township was surveyed in 1854, the year after a Wesleyan church was opened. Part of the Golden Square school (1875) still occupies the original site at the corner of Laurel and Panton streets.

The wealth won from the mines resulted in a fairly well-paid workforce, and several substantial civic buildings were constructed.

The Golden Square Football Club entered the Bendigo Football League in 1935 and won nine premierships in the next 50 years.

The local public swimming pool on Maple Street was saved from demolition and reopened as a community facility in 2013.

Golden Square was the terminus of the westerly tramline (closed 1973) and it had a railway station on the line from Melbourne to Bendigo.

In 1960 the Golden Square High School was opened, and it continued as a secondary college until 2008.

Golden Square’s houses range from cottages to comfortable Edwardian brick structures.

A notable example is Commersdale House (1898) in Panton Street.

CoreLogic data indicates that the predominant age group in Golden Square is 20-29 years with households being primarily childless couples and are likely to be repaying $1000 – $1399 per month on mortgage repayments, and in general, people in Golden Square work in a professional occupation.

In 2011, 64.8 per cent of the homes in Golden Square were owner occupied compared with 63.3 per cent in 2016.

 

AGENT PERSPECTIVE:

“The results currently being achieved in the Golden Square area are quite amazing, I would say it is now up there with one of Bendigo’s most sought after suburbs.

“With realestate.com reporting a 43.28 % increase in search volumes for Golden Square year on year it’s clear that that part of the Bendigo region is hot property.

“Over the past few months the feedback from buyers wanting to snap up a deal within the Golden Square area, is that with the location being the right side to commute to Melbourne.

“They feel that there will be an increased demand for this side of town as people consider moving out of the capital city and having a more work life balance which they have become accustomed to during the pandemic.

“I am continuing to be blown away by some of the prices I have been able to achieve for my vendors in Golden Square as some prices have been literally life changing.

 

Darcy Quinn – Sales Associate – Ray White Bendigo

 

TIDBIT:

Golden Square, or ‘the Square’ as it is locally known, developed as its own identity from 1851, the year the first gold discoveries were made on Bendigo Creek at a place then named Golden Point, and later Golden Square.

 

Population: 8820

Male: 47.6%

Female: 52.4%

Median age: 38

5-year population change: 6.2%

Median house price: $380,000

Change in Median Price: (5yrs) is 23.%

Median asking rent per week: $360

Average length of ownership: 11 years

Owner occupiers: 65%

Renters: 35%

 

Historic median house price:

December 2020: $380,000

December 2019: $337,500

December 2018: $330,250

December 2017: $318,500

December 2016: $315,000

 

House sales per annum:

Period ending December 2020: 180

Period ending December 2019: 187

 

Land median sale price:

December 2020: $177,000

December 2019: $163,000

 

Land sales per annum:

Period ending December 2020: 45

Period ending December 2019: 10