The three-bedroom house at 68 Moruya Drive, Grovedale, is listed for sale with price hopes from $699,000 to $709,000.
A big injection of buyer activity is seeing Geelong’s housing market quickly switch in favour of sellers this spring.
New data from Loan Market reveals the amount of prospective homebuyers pre-approved for a home loan has doubled in Grovedale, one of 10 Victorian hot spots where the amount of people getting ready to buy has spiked, feeding into the squeeze of buyers.
Cuts to interest rates, the expansion of the federal government’s Home Guarantee Scheme allowing eligible people to buy up to a $950,000 home with a five per cent deposit and the uptick in prices has brought more people into the market, increasing competition for properties.
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Loan Market Geelong City mortgage broker Shilo Hughes said first-home buyers are leading the market, driven by anticipation of further rate cuts and improved affordability.
Families and upgraders are providing a strong second wave, especially where homes appeal to space, yard and amenities, particularly in the outer‑ring or suburbs offering more lifestyle, Ms Hughes said.
“Many buyers are focusing on what the market calls the ‘sweet spot’ around $500,000 to $700,000 for houses in certain suburbs, where affordability meets value,” Ms Hughes said.
“Entry‐level houses, under $500,000, remain hot, especially in northern and sub‐regional suburbs of Geelong.
Loan Market Geelong City mortgage broker Shilo Hughes.
“Units or townhouses are becoming more attractive as a stepping‑stone into the market given price pressures around housing, while location matters a lot,” she said.
While access to good schools, transport, amenities, proximity to Geelong CBD or to coastal lifestyle options are premium attributes for buyers, growth corridors were increasingly popular.
“Newer developments and growth‑corridor suburbs are gaining traction because they present reasonable value and modern amenities.”
While first-home buyers are more likely to borrow between $400,000 to $550,000, depending on their deposit size and property attributes, typical buyers in the middle of the market are looking to borrow between $500,000 and $650,000, she said.
The three-bedroom house at 68 Pioneer Rd, Grovedale, is listed for sale with price hopes from $480,000 to $520,000.
Buyers advocate Tony Slack said the quick rise in buyers was matched against a smaller bump in the number of properties listed for sale, advantaging sellers amid increased competition.
“Every agent is just screaming for listings, especially the sub-$1 million market. And really in every suburb,” Mr Slack said.
But the switch to a seller’s market doesn’t mean vendors can name their price, a phenomenon of the Covid-era boom where buyers routinely paid well over the odds, often site-unseen.
“We’re still not seeing runaway prices,” Mr Slack said.
“Even though it might be leaning toward a seller’s market, it is still price sensitive because you still need to get potential buyers through the front door.”
Mr Slack said more homes in lower price brackets were being sold within days of hitting the market after multiple offers.
“It really tells me that it’s a sellers’ market when you’ve got buyers that are ready to buy it within 24 to 48 hours of going on the market.”
The four-bedroom townhouse at 19 Consaw St, Armstrong Creek, is listed for sale with price hopes from $599,000 to $649,000.
Hayeswinckle director Michelle Winckle said after two years of depressed conditions, the number of buyers had suddenly ramped up.
“It’s definitely turning in to a sellers’ market,” Ms Winckle said.
“I’m finding there;s a lot more buyers and part of the reason is a lot of (potential) sellers saw the market has been so low, and flat for such a long time that they’ve not realised there;s actually more demand that we’ve ever had and we don’t have the stock for it.”
Ms Winckle said FOMO is taking hold, particularly in the $700,000 to $850,000 price bracket with more buyers trying to purchase off-market to beat competition.
The volume of first-home buyers seeking to purchase with the 5 per cent deposit had resulted in a backlog of applications to sign off, Mr Slack said.
“I’ve helped two clients, first-home buyers that have taken up the 5% deposit scheme and on both occasions they found the approval has come through in the 11th hour purely because of the backlog of applications,” he said.
People using the deposit scheme make up about one-third of first-home buyers since the scheme was expanded this month, Ms Hughes said.
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