Homeowners in some of Victoria’s tourist towns have profited more than $1 million in the past ten years.
Regional township Bright’s median house price has skyrocketed 257 per cent, up from $362,500 in 2013 to $1,292,500 in 2023, ranking the town at number two in terms of growth for all of Australia, according to data from PropTrack.
Median house prices have also soared in Sorrento, rising from a median of $727,500 to $2,275,000, and Barwon Heads, increasing from $592,500 to $1,800,000.
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Anglesea, Venus Bay, Blairgowrie and North Wonthaggi also had prices increase more than 175 per cent as city-slickers migrated to the coast, especially during the pandemic.
PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty said when interest rates were slashed in 2020 it stimulated activity across the board, but places like Bright “really outperformed”.
“There was suddenly an increase in interest in regional living, which meant that combined with the low interest rates, this drove those (towns) really above trend levels of price growth,” Ms Flaherty said.
“There’s not necessarily many opportunities to buy in specialist lifestyle areas, or (towns) close to the water or to the mountains,
“When those homes do hit the market, they perform really well.”
Despite interest rate rises, Ms Flaherty believes lifestyle or tourist areas would continue to experience price growth greater than the broader market.
“Property prices really haven‘t fallen that far, particularly in light of how much interest rates have increased, so I think that shows a certain level of resilience,” Ms Flaherty said.
“Where we’re continuing to see really strong buyer demand, but not necessarily that many opportunities to buy, it means people have to put in very competitive offers.”
Bright First National’s sales manager Regan Alexander said Bright was a heavy tourism town which had always brought demand from a lot of investors.
“Bright’s always had some pretty strong growth, but certainly some pretty steep growth over that last couple of years,” Mr Alexander said.
“When regional travel took off in the pandemic, those wanting the lifestyle really drove that price increase.”
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TOP GROWTH SUBURBS FOR HOUSE PRICES IN VICTORIA
(Suburb – Median 10 years ago – Median Today – Ten year growth)
Bright – $362,500 – $1,292,500 – 256.6%
Sorrento – $727,500 – $2.275m – 212.7%
Barwon Heads – $592,500 – $1.8m – 203.8%
Anglesea – $597,500 – $1.77m – 196.2%
Venus Bay – $239,000 – $700,000 – 192.9%
Blairgowrie – $583,275 – $1.7m – 191.5%
North Wonthaggi – $240,000 – $667,000 – 177.89
Maldon – $280,000 – $792,500 – 172.3%
Myrtleford – $220,000 – $595,000 – 170.5%
Rye – $425,000 – $1.145m – 169.4%
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Originally published as Victorian towns where house prices have risen more than $1m in the past decade
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