Activity dips but medians keep going up

REIV stats show that property sales activity in regional Victoria for the first five months of the year fell by nearly 26 per cent overall, compared with the same period in 2017.

In the 39 local government areas where sales averaged better than one per day from January-May 2017, the biggest percentage decline over the same period in 2018 has come in Mitchell, where sales dipped from 884 to 438, more than 50 per cent. Greater Geelong, where sales boomed in the first five months of 2017 slid back from 3,880 to 2,457, a contraction of nearly 37 per cent. However, sales there this year still easily eclipsed the second and third hottest areas – Ballarat (1,578 sales, a decline of just under 7 per cent) and Greater Bendigo (1,166 sales, a 13.5 per cent slip).

Other LGAs where real estate agents will be keenly seeking listings are Macedon Ranges, Moorabool, Surf Coast, Golden Plains and Murrindindi, all of which experienced a reduction in sales activity of 40 per cent or greater.

There were declines of over 33 per cent in Pyrenees, Greater Geelong, Swan Hill, Alpine and Central Goldfields too, perhaps a result of owners retaining their holdings rather than any lack of willing buyers, as all of those areas saw healthy median increases over the past year.

While fewer sales were the norm, there were exceptions. In Latrobe, sales jumped over 18 per cent in the period, from 795 to 941. Horsham and Glenelg also saw small increases, though from lower base numbers.All of these areas have experienced lower than the regional median annual price increase and perhaps buyers seized their opportunities by grabbing a bargain.

For market information on all Victorian locations, please visit the website at reiv.com.au/market-insights.