A recovery is underway across the Geelong housing market as the bulk of suburbs show an uplift in home values in the last months of 2024.
New PropTrack suburb median value data for houses and units shows the recovery was underway as the year drew to a close.
PropTrack senior economist Anne Flaherty said a further rise in value was on the cards if interest rates were cut, as expected in the first six months of 2025.
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But the magnitude of the rise in house and unit values shows that homeowners going to market in 2025 shouldn’t get too carried away when they’re setting price expectations.
The suburbs with the biggest rise in house values included Manifold Heights, St Albans Park, Bell Post Hill, Lovely Banks and Hamlyn Heights, where an increase of 1.3 and 2.1 per cent represented between $11,000 and $18,000.
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Increases were marginally more substantial in unit markets, where Lorne, Manifold Heights, Ocean Grove, Leopold and Whittington revealed the biggest rises.
There were 49 areas where house or unit values increased in the previous three months, rising between $600 and $59,000.
However, the median values across Geelong remain below the figures recorded at the same time last year in all but eight locations.
Ms Flaherty said Geelong had passed the bottom of the market.
PropTrack senior economist Anne Flaherty said home prices were trending higher in the bulk of Geelong suburbs.
“It’s definitely some good news for homeowners in Geelong, because we have been seeing home prices across Geelong really trending downwards since 2022, and what we’re now starting to see is a recovery that seems to be happening pretty much across the board,” Ms Flaherty said.
“I think another positive sign for prices this year is that the expectation is that we are going to see an interest-rate cut, most likely within the first six months of this year.
“If that does happen, that will increase buyers’ borrowing capacities and that you would expect to also push property prices up as they can afford to pay more.”
Ms Flaherty said the rise in Geelong comes as a lot of buyers, particularly first-home buyers, were still being priced out of a growing number of suburbs, pushing them to outer suburbs of Melbourne and provincial cities.
The five-bedroom house at 32 Girton Crescent, Manifold Heights, is listed for sale with price hopes from $1.65m to $1.725m
“Geelong itself is a major hub – there is a lot of employment. There’s tonnes of amenity,” she said.
“It’s still a relatively affordable area not too far away from Melbourne that is probably drawing in buyers who may otherwise not have even considered purchasing in Geelong in the past.”
Maxwell Collins, Geelong director Nick Lord said an increase in buying activity over the past few months was an early indicator that prices would improve.
But he said that activity was predicated on buyers meeting the market, given the correction in prices over the past 18 months.
“Anything that we’ve deemed probably fairly priced and in line with the market, the buyers are certainly active and we’re seeing them sell within the appropriate range,” Mr Lord said.
The three-bedroom house at 74 Kansas Ave, Bell Post Hill, is listed for sale with price hopes from $700,000 to $770,000.
“Anything that’s not in line with the market is honestly sitting for six to 12 months.”
Mr Lord said second and third-home buyers were making a return in a sign of improved confidence in both sellers and buyers.
“When the market’s a little bit down with consumer confidence, no one does anything. But your second and third-home buyers, whether they’re needing to improve the size of their house or land space for growing children, will sit but only for 12 or 18 months before they need to get moving.”
He said they’re most active in a price point between $800,000 to $1.5m.
“There has certainly been more activity out there. Traffic at open homes has certainly been increased over the past three months and we’re seeing some first-time buyers and investors coming back in.”
Mr Lord said a cut in interest rates would unlock more borrowing power to allow more people back into the market this year.
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