Two-bedroom performers

Two-bedroom houses have outperformed the typical family home in the past year, as buyers look to enter the market for less than an area’s median house price.

New REIV data shows the median price for a two-bedroom house rose 9.1 per cent over the year to $265,000 – higher than the 8.1 per cent increase recorded for three-bedroom houses.

Geelong West experienced the strongest price growth for two-bedroom houses, up 31.4 per cent over the year to September 30 to a median price of $555,000. This is an increase of more than $132,000 on the same period last year.

Moe was another top performer for smaller homes with its median price for two-bedroom houses increasing 21.8 per cent over the year to $159,000.

Significant annual price growth for this property type was also recorded in Norlane, where the median increased 19.2 per cent to $250,000.

Two-bedroom houses were also sought after in Castlemaine and Warrnambool, up 8.7 and 6.5 per cent respectively.

Meanwhile, the Geelong suburb of Hamlyn Heights was the state’s top performer for three-bedroom houses, with its median price increasing 20.4 per cent over the year to $470,000. This was an increase of almost $80,000 on 2016 figures.

Significant price growth of around 18 per cent was also recorded for three-bedroom houses in Ocean Grove, Highton and Corio, boosting their median prices to $590,000, $550,000 and $280,000 respectively.

Other areas seeing double-digit price growth for three-bedroom houses include Wallan, up 16.8 per cent to a median of $375,000; Belmont, up 16.8 per cent to $481,000; and Lara, up 15.7 per cent to $413,750.

Four-bedroom homes have also performed well with the statewide median price increasing 6.9 per cent over the year to $465,000.

For more information on median house prices by bedroom, head to reiv.com.au/market-insights.