How Geelong homebuyers broke into the market for $360K

New PropTrack research reveals buyers are digging deeper to secure even the region’s cheapest houses, needing to scour Geelong’s northern suburbs or be prepared to do some serious renovating to land a house for less than $500,000, let alone below $400,000.The three cheapest houses to sell in the past year were each snapped up for $360,000 in Norlane and Corio, PropTrack research shows.The first step in any selling journey is a carefully considered decision to put a property on the market. Meet Adam and Lisa Salemme, a young couple who are thinking about selling their family home - but how do you make that decision?RELATED: Historic Newtown building in prime position for apartmentsNewtown home smashes auction reserve by $735,000Latest Geelong sale and auction resultsBut the sales at Hendy St, Corio, and Gull St and Emu Court, Norlane, tell different stories. Each are ex-commission houses dating to the 1950s or 1960. While two are largely original houses that need work, the Emu Court house was refreshed, but only after the backyard was subdivided and sold off previously.Hayden, Geelong agent Ali Bandari said the previous owner had painted throughout and installed a basic kitchen and bathroom.“The property was purchased by a first-home buyer who is from Melbourne. They couldn’t afford more than $380,000 to $390,000, which is why they jumped on this one and walked into that property and wants to do some work and put a garage in and that sort of thing,” he said.Most people at that price bracket were either buying a first home or downsizing, Mr Bandari said.“Investors for those properties is probably maybe 10 per cent. There are more first-home buyers or purchasers who are downsizing.”Maxwell Collins, Geelong agent Duncan Skene said the first-time buyer at Hendy St, which sold last November, was planning to do-up the house on a full-size 550sq m block.He said properties in that area always attracted plenty of young buyers.“It’s just the affordability,” he said.Across town in Belmont, first-home buyers happened on a true bargain, paying just $400,000 for a two-bedroom Herd Rd house.Ray White, Highton agent Adam Natonewski said the property had been vacant for several years and let go and sold at land value after being caught up in a NDIS fraud case.“It’s a very basic home and requires some structural work – it had been left dormant for two years, so it was quite overgrown and neglected.“It needs stumping, it needs wiring, it needs everything from the bones out.“It’s basically land value, I think the person who has bought is planning a makeover of the property but its going to be a big project.”Mr Natonewski said properties less than $500,000 were increasingly hard to come by.“It’s a renovator’s delight, or you are still looking at Whittington, Newcomb, or the lower demographic suburbs north of the CBD.“Or you are buying something in Charlemont that’s on a postage stamp block. “We did sell one for $510,000 recently, which was a small block, small house, but that’s what you can expect at that price range.”The recent price boom across the region means Norlane is the only suburb where the median house price is below $500,000. And there are four suburbs – Corio, Whittington, Breakwater and Thomson – that would allow buyers to break in to the market at a median price below $600,000.A snapshot of properties on the market this week shows less than 12 per cent are priced below $500,000.Homes listed between $500,000 and $1m represent almost two-thirds of properties selling today.

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April 01, 2023 at 12:30AM
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New PropTrack research reveals buyers are digging deeper to secure even the region’s cheapest houses, needing to scour Geelong’s northern suburbs or be prepared to do some serious renovating to land a house for less than $500,000, let alone below $400,000.The three cheapest houses to sell in the past year were each snapped up for $360,000 in Norlane and Corio, PropTrack research shows.The first step in any selling journey is a carefully considered decision to put a property on the market. Meet Adam and Lisa Salemme, a young couple who are thinking about selling their family home - but how do you make that decision?RELATED: Historic Newtown building in prime position for apartmentsNewtown home smashes auction reserve by $735,000Latest Geelong sale and auction resultsBut the sales at Hendy St, Corio, and Gull St and Emu Court, Norlane, tell different stories. Each are ex-commission houses dating to the 1950s or 1960. While two are largely original houses that need work, the Emu Court house was refreshed, but only after the backyard was subdivided and sold off previously.Hayden, Geelong agent Ali Bandari said the previous owner had painted throughout and installed a basic kitchen and bathroom.“The property was purchased by a first-home buyer who is from Melbourne. They couldn’t afford more than $380,000 to $390,000, which is why they jumped on this one and walked into that property and wants to do some work and put a garage in and that sort of thing,” he said.Most people at that price bracket were either buying a first home or downsizing, Mr Bandari said.“Investors for those properties is probably maybe 10 per cent. There are more first-home buyers or purchasers who are downsizing.”Maxwell Collins, Geelong agent Duncan Skene said the first-time buyer at Hendy St, which sold last November, was planning to do-up the house on a full-size 550sq m block.He said properties in that area always attracted plenty of young buyers.“It’s just the affordability,” he said.Across town in Belmont, first-home buyers happened on a true bargain, paying just $400,000 for a two-bedroom Herd Rd house.Ray White, Highton agent Adam Natonewski said the property had been vacant for several years and let go and sold at land value after being caught up in a NDIS fraud case.“It’s a very basic home and requires some structural work – it had been left dormant for two years, so it was quite overgrown and neglected.“It needs stumping, it needs wiring, it needs everything from the bones out.“It’s basically land value, I think the person who has bought is planning a makeover of the property but its going to be a big project.”Mr Natonewski said properties less than $500,000 were increasingly hard to come by.“It’s a renovator’s delight, or you are still looking at Whittington, Newcomb, or the lower demographic suburbs north of the CBD.“Or you are buying something in Charlemont that’s on a postage stamp block. “We did sell one for $510,000 recently, which was a small block, small house, but that’s what you can expect at that price range.”The recent price boom across the region means Norlane is the only suburb where the median house price is below $500,000. And there are four suburbs – Corio, Whittington, Breakwater and Thomson – that would allow buyers to break in to the market at a median price below $600,000.A snapshot of properties on the market this week shows less than 12 per cent are priced below $500,000.Homes listed between $500,000 and $1m represent almost two-thirds of properties selling today.