The three-bedroom house at 56 Laura Ave, Belmont, sold for $800,000.
The rising interest in Geelong houses from investment buyers able to reach deeper into their pockets is starting to leave its mark on hopeful young purchasers.
Two nearby Belmont homes snapped up separately by investors offer a window into the growing demand to find value in popular pockets around the city.
A three-bedroom weatherboard house at 56 Laura Ave, Belmont, attracting four bidders, but the ultimate buyer paid $800,000 to oust three would-be first-time purchasers securing the 624sq m property.
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Hayeswinckle agent Matthew Roberts had a $750,000 reserve for the home, midway through the $725,000 to $775,000 price guide for the vendor, who was looking to use the proceeds to downsize.
The updated home offered 2.7m ceilings, original floorboards and a living area overlooking a deep back yard.
“There’s been a few good sales around that pocket. It seems to be fairly dominated by investors and first-home buyers,” Mr Roberts said.
“I had three first-home buyers that had a really good crack at it, but in the end of was an investment that ended up buying it.”
The three-bedroom house at 1 Fairview St, Belmont, sold for $851,000.
Mr Roberts said the Geelong-based buyer would add the property to an existing portfolio.
The sale followed an earlier auction at 1 Fairview St, where a three-bedroom brick veneer house was snapped up for $851,000.
Buxton agent Ian Nichols said three bidders had contested the 656sq m property, which very quickly scotched other potential investors from getting involved.
It had been listed with a $739,000 to $789,000 guide.
Belmont is one of Geelong’s biggest residential suburbs, though the 300 house sales in the past 12 months reflects rising demand for property in the area.
Belmont’s median house price climbed to $713,500 in February, according to PropTrack data, though it still has a way to go to return to its previous peak.
It’s a family suburb that’s also traditionally attracted investors.
The Belmont High School zone is the biggest drawcard in Geelong’s southern suburbs.
“The school catchment is massive in 3216 – especially in that pocket there, being Belmont High,” Mr Nichols said.
“Obviously public transport down on Roslyn Rd and you’re in the middle between the Highton and Belmont shopping precincts, so it’s easy access into town and a quiet spot,” he said the Fairview Ave location.
“Realistically it’s perfect for first, second-home buyers, families and obviously has proven rental returns and capital growth, that’s what the investors are looking for.”
Investors, who had almost completely dropped out of the market for several years,
Mr Roberts said investors were less inclined to go to auction, where buyers can get caught up in emotion, but the family benefits of the area were hard to deny.
“People are thinking long term. They’re not worried about the cycles of the market. You’ve got really good school options there which are at the end of the street. You can walk to Belmont High.”
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