A new index confirms the Geelong region offers the best places in Victoria to purchase a home for lifestyle.
A new index confirms the Geelong region offers Victoria’s best lifestyle suburbs for people looking to buy a home on a budget.
The MCG Quantity Surveying Four-Pillar Lifestyle Index reveals four areas across the Geelong region are among the top 10 lifestyle markets in Victoria.
Among the SA2 regions, which are typically bigger than individual suburbs, Barwon Heads-Armstrong Creek tops the list, followed by Winchelsea and Newtown in second and third. Torquay ranked ninth.
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The suburbs outranked Melbourne bayside areas where home prices were higher.
The rankings underscore the region’s longstanding lifestyle drawcards of beaches, established urban amenities and family friendliness, but comes out on top when combined with the relative affordability of residential real estate.
A median price of about $700,000 across Barwon Heads-Armstrong Creek takes in the higher priced, popular seaside village with the affordability of Geelong’s biggest active urban growth corridor, where homes, shopping and schools are all expanding.
Landlocked Barwon Heads has a $1.5m median house price, while Armstrong Creek’s typical homes sell for $650,000.
Barwon Heads offers a small town vibe with ready access to schools and bigger shopping not too far away.
The index, which uses SuburbTrends data, measures the liveability of every market, scoring beach access, natural environment, urban amenity and community depth before overlaying price metrics such as 10-year median price growth.
Beach access is an obvious advantage in Geelong where even Newtown’s proximity to the Corio Bay waterfront is seen as a benefit for homebuyers, not to mention world-class surf beaches from 13th Beach to Bells.
But MCG Quantity Surveying director Mike Mortlock said features deemed the most desirable and sought out by home seekers year after year included easy access to beaches, amenities, jobs hubs and top schools.
“They’re attributes that help markets outperform over the long haul. We know buyers will pay a premium to have them.”
Armstrong Creek Town Centre is a fast-growing shopping and business hub Geelong’s southern corridor.
Victoria’s best lifestyle markets were often more influenced by education than in the rest of the country, Mr Mortlock said.
“Schools make a big difference to the Victorian lifestyle,” he said.
“The proportion of people wanting to go to private or top public schools with a small catchment is much higher and makes a much bigger difference.”
Bellarine Property agent Peta Walter said most people relocating to Barwon Heads were seeking a lifestyle change.
“It’s a small town and small community and for young families and people who are new to the area I think they do like it being a smaller town because if you don’t know anyone it’s pretty easy to immerse yourself in the community,” Ms Walter said.
Iona College is one of Geelong’s newest private schools in Armstrong Creek.
“There’s lots to do in terms of sporting or arts, so many different groups that you can join within the town.”
But new public and private schools has helped coastal communities such as Barwon Heads and Torquay become even more attractive.
“Obviously you have got your junior years (in Barwon Heads) but for secondary school the bus services are great to any of the schools in Geelong, Catholic, private or other schools that have now just opened up in Armstrong Creek,” Ms Walter said.
“And then you have got all the infrastructure that’s going into Armstrong Creek as far as shopping and bigger supermarkets, that’s just making it more accessible.”
Beach access is a key lifestyle attraction throughout the region, such as Barwon Heads’ 13th Beach. Picture: Brad Fleet
While Oberon High School and Iona and Geelong Lutheran colleges are relatively new secondary schools in Armstrong Creek (with more to come), the city’s historic private schools have always been the top reason people buy in inner city Newtown, Whitford agent Heidi Trempel said.
Newtown is home to Chilwell, Newtown and St Roberts primary schools, and top private schools The Geelong College, St Joseph’s and Sacred Heart colleges.
“When we do speak to people, 90 per cent of the time they’re coming to Newtown for the schools,” Ms Trempel said.
“Without a doubt it’s the biggest drawcard.”
Geelong’s Westfield shopping centre. Picture: Alison Wynd
The leafy, blue-chip suburb is known for its vibrant lifestyle, with plenty of parks, cafes – especially along Pakington St – and recreation, such as Barwon River paths.
Newtown’s $1.1m median house price includes range of housing options, from historic homes to modern developments.
“You do get the bigger homes and you also get that history. It’s something that’s more sought after,” Ms Trempel said.
“If they’re coming to Newtown, they are coming for those schools really.
“If it’s primary school and they don’t want to go to one of the private schools, they come for the zoning because they’ve got a great reputation.”
There’s been a shift in the buying demographics in Torquay, particularly as the state government raised the cost of owning investment and holiday properties, McCartney director Tim Carson said.
Leafy Newtown was among Victoria’s top lifestyle suburbs. The four-bedroom house at 18 Virginia St, is listed for sale with price hopes from $1.2m to $1.32m.
“Now it’s probably people downsizing and people looking to move,” Mr Carson said.
“The investors and holiday home people have certainly been a lot slower purely because of the interest rates, land tax and compliance laws. We are seeing a real shift to more people that are moving down here.”
Mr Carson said the development of more suburban housing and local private schools (both in Torquay and Armstrong Creek) opened the door for more people on the coast.
Mr Carson said families often followed each other to the coast, encouraging more downsizing as a new wave was stepping up from Geelong’s outer suburbs.
“A lot more people that have lived in Grovedale or Armstrong Creek are taking that next step to sell their place for $600,000, $700,000 and take that leap into the $900,000 to $1m price tag,” Mr Carson said.
Young families are taking the next step into Torquay in properties, such as the four-bedroom house at 31 Briody Drive, Torquay, is listed for sale with price hopes from $999,000 to $1.05m.
“Now that interest rates have come down a little bit, they’ve got more confidence they can sustain it.
“The schooling is good and the infrastructure is improving all the time, it just seems to be a really good destination.”
Winchelsea’s surf coast hinterland location 20 minutes southwest of Geelong had created a lifestyle hot spot with affordable housing in town, Hayeswinckle director Michelle Winckle said.
“It’s half an hour to everything – it’s so central – Winchelsea has got so much potential because it’s sitting right there.”
The area has a median house price of $700,000.
With Nicole Mayne
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