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Demand continues to drive an increase in property prices throughout the Wellington Shire, according to a new report from Domain.

Photo: File Hot property in Wellington Shire

Josh Farrell

HOUSE prices continue to climb throughout regional Victoria and Wellington Shire is right at the forefront. One of the star performers is Yarram, with research completed by property marketplace Domain, ranking it among the state’s best performers. Yarram’s median property price climbed by 38.5 per cent to $360,000 in the past year, placing it fourth on the list of growth in Victoria. Up the road in Sale, prices rose by more than six per cent during the final quarter of 2021 according to data released by the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV). Sale’s median house prices is now $415,000, close to $100,000 more than it was at the start of the pandemic. Real estate agent Chris Morrison from Graham Chalmer Real Estate said he has not been surprised by the recent growth in the Sale area. "I would have thought it had gone up by more, some individual properties have gone up by 10 to 15 per cent," he said. Mr Morrison said properties are being sold at a rapid pace he has not seen previously during his real estate career. "Most places if they are staged right can be gone in anywhere from two to four weeks," he said. "In some cases properties are sold before they even make it to online sites so the statistics around sale time could be wrong," he said. REIV president Adam Docking believes the exodus of Melbourne is a big contributor to the growth Sale is currently seeing. “Certain areas peaked quicker than other areas,” Mr Docking said. “Obviously Victorians love affair with water saw the Peninsula areas start the migration and the inner areas of Sale and Horsham probably saw great growth, but not as quick and not as early. “Sale did surprise me – it has great infrastructure and it is close to Melbourne also – we have huge growth right through the city of Latrobe.” The shift of Melburnians is a lifestyle change, the distance means the town is completely different to Melbourne unlike places like Geelong according to Mr Docking. “Sale is far enough out of Melbourne to be regional but close enough to Melbourne to be accessible,” he said. “That sort of two and a half hours it is moving out to a better lifestyle and we will see more of it.” Mr Morrison believes it is three factors that is seeing demand in the property market climb dramatically. "There is a whole range of factors, you have your lifestyle people coming out of Melbourne, locals trying to enter the market and investors," he said. Mr Docking agrees Melburnians will continue to flock to the regions. “People are priced out of the metropolitan area and what their money will buy in places like Sale ticks everything on their bucket list,” he said. While the median rental price within Sale has climbed, Mr Docking said a greater strain is being put on investors and some are leaving the market. “We are going to see a tightening and rationalisation of the rental market,” he said. “We are concerned there will be a large gap in the investment market which will hurt the people it is designed to assist.” Mr Morrison can see the rental market acting this way currently in Sale. There is a shortage of rentals at the moment but rental returns are strong," he said. The rising property prices are putting a strain on the first home buyers but Mr Docking believes now is still the time to enter the property market. “It has always been difficult for first homebuyers to enter the market,” he said. “With interest rates at historical lows, this is the time when the best from of future family wealth is in property, you can’t put your money in the bank and get any sort of interest. “This is the time to take the educated risk. “To make it a lot easier for first home buyers to enter the market, you should make it a lot easier for the last home seller (downsizers), to sell their property without all of the added costs – that will free up houses. “Downsizers, they are not making any income from any type of asset so they are sitting on their asset because they are too scared to sell up.” Units remain an affordable way for people to enter the property market with the median price at $279,000 which is over $130,000 lower than the rest of regional Victoria. The price only climbed by 1.6 per cent last quarter, significantly lower than the regional average of 3.1 per cent.