Town snapshot – Geelong City

The size of the Geelong 3220 central area is approximately 3.3sqkm and has 17 parks covering nearly 8.9 per cent of total area.

The population of Geelong in 2016 was 5,220 and by the 2021 Census the population was recorded at 5,811 showing a population growth of 11.4% in the area during that time.

Geelong town became a city on 8 December 1910 and electric trams began running in 1912, but World War I and the years immediately after it were a quiet period.

Between 1922 and 1925 Geelong’s future industrial growth began: three woollen mills, Cresco fertilizers and the Ford Motor Company’s vehicle plant near Corio.

The Corio whisky distillery (1928) and radio station 3GL (1930) were opened.

On the eve of World War II, the International Harvester Works were opened beside Ford, and a grain elevator terminal was built at Corio Quay.

A rail link between Melbourne and Geelong opened in 1857, and the line to Ballarat opened in 1862. Ballarat did not have a direct rail connection to Melbourne until 1889.

In the late 19th and early 20th century Geelong saw notable industries around wool, from exporting bales to woollen mills, both now commemorated in the National Wool Museum in central geelong, housed in an elegant bluestone warehouse.

Geelong markets itself as the gateway to the Bellarine Peninsula and the resort towns of Torquay, Apollo Bay and Lorne, along with the ‘Great Ocean Road’, it has many attractions within easy reach.

The CBD has been rejuvenated with Deakin University, established in 1974 on an outer suburban campus at Waurn Ponds, taking over a number of the otherwise redundant warehouses overlooking the port.

Explorers Hume and Hovell recorded the Aboriginal word ‘jillong’ in 1824, thought to mean land or cliffs, when they came to Corio Bay.

The name “Geelong” was derived from the Aboriginal word and was given to the area by Governor Bourke in 1837 when he visited Port Phillip to also formally name Melbourne and Williamstown.

In 1860 the Geelong Football Club won its first local premiership, and the year after, one of the club’s notable players, Charles Brownlow, was born.

 

His first year as a player was 1879, and he captained the team in 1884 and coached it from 1892 to 1917. He is commemorated with the Brownlow Medal for the competition’s best and fairest player.

Geelong played a pivotal role in the growth of football and was called the Pivotonians until the 1950s when the name was replaced by the Cats.

CoreLogic data indicates that the predominant age group in Geelong is 20-29 years with households in Geelong being primarily childless couples and are likely to be repaying on average $2,000 per month on mortgage repayments, and in general, people in Geelong work in a professional occupation.

AGENT PERSPECTIVE:

“Central Geelong still proves to be such a prominent area for a range of buyers, it truly offers it all, with apartments, townhouses, units, and standalone properties for those families wanting inner city living.

“Geelong still offers the best of all worlds – Bayside living, with phenomenal eateries and cafes, an abundance of organisations now calling Geelong home, world-class medical facilities, Deakin University and every amenity you’ll ever need.

“It’s amazing to see Geelong go from strength to strength, from humble beginnings to now being a dream location to call home.”

Michaela Miller – Geelong Real Estate Co

TIDBIT:

Geelong has been the second largest city in Victoria since the 1930s.

Population: 5,811

Male: 47.9%

Female: 52.1%

Median age: 40

5 year population change: 11.4%

House median sales price: $1,005,000

Change in median price: (5yrs) 25%

Median asking rent per week: $530

Average length of ownership: 9 years

Owner occupiers: 56%

Renters: 44%

House median value:

July 2024: $829,500

July 2023: $876,000

July 2022: $849,200

July 2021: $910,000

July 2020: $731,500

House sales per annum:

Period ending July 2024: 44

Period ending July 2023: 50

Land median sale price:

July 2024: $357,000

July 2023: $442,500

Land sales per annum:

Period ending July 2024: 2

Period ending July 2023: 5