Melbourne Buyers Packing Up For The Coast

It has been an incredible year so far and I know I don’t need to tell you all that… a big shout out to all Melbournites doing it tough up there! The rest of Victoria appreciates the efforts. I get the feeling that the city folk are pacing around like caged lions waiting to get out, particularly with winter officially now behind us. Us regional dwellers have been a little better off over here with restrictions being a lot easier to handle. We have the outlets of walking, fishing, golfing and surfing and not to mention, less crowded supermarkets. Despite these perks allowing us to keep things relatively ‘normal’, it’s still hard to get used to people walking around wearing masks!

We have seen a spike in property demand from city workers realising that they no longer need to live close to work because of their ability to work from home. Even if you are not currently in stage 4 restrictions you are no doubt spending more and more time in the house, noticing its shortcomings – every scuff or storage issue or lack of yard space driving us nuts! This too is encouraging people to make a move. We experienced this increase in regional sales this last time we were ‘locked down’. After those restrictions were eased, the buyers flocked to regional areas to buy.

This time with the restrictions a lot tougher, confidence is there and buyers are now desperate to make the move from the city to begin their life on the coast. So the equation looks like this: frustrated buyers + low stock levels + high sale numbers for June and July + lower than low interest rates + the usual spring time rush = A competitive market and upcoming boom to our coastal towns.

Sounds like a perfect storm to me…although in the interest of balance, it does continue to be a challenge to obtain finance approval and there is still a lot of uncertainty around the economy. Despite these molehills, the outlook is buoyant.

We also need to remember (as much as we’d like to forget) that it doesn’t look like we will be travelling overseas for quite some time, so that extra cash we may have been saving up for a trip is now there to put toward that investment or holiday home you have been dreaming about. Vacancy rates for our rental properties are at an all-time low. Huge rental demand has left us with only one property available for rent at the time of writing this! What a great time to invest!

Bellarine Peninsula property owners – let’s get ready to capitalise on what is predicted to be an amazing few months ahead. Buyers – it has never been a better time to escape the city life!

Call us at Ocean Grove 5255 1000 or Leopold 5250 1666 for a no obligation appraisal.

Hugh McKewan, Director, Hayden Real Estate Ocean Grove.