Plateau: Harcourts’ Donna Ellmer-Buckingham.
KIM WATERS
A fall in Geelong’s median house price is “good news” for buyers, according to a leading agent.
Harcourts Geelong director Donna Ellmer-Buckingham said first-time and family buyers would welcome the 1.3 per cent decrease in the March quarter after watching prices rise 10.9 per cent in 2010.
“It needed to happen,” Ms Ellmer-Buckingham said.
“What we’re seeing right now is a return to a more normal kind of market. It was getting a bit out of reach for families and first-home buyers.”
Ms Ellmer-Buckingham believed the Geelong market was beginning to “plateau” after several years of fast growth in prices.
“Vendors will have to be a little more considerate about what they want to take and possibly not have such high expectations but it’s still a great time for people to sell – they just might need to be more patient.”
Real Estate Institute of Victoria’s March quarter data revealed Geelong’s median price was $385,000, down from $390,000 at the end of December.
Institute chief Enzo Raimondo said the residential property market had entered a “different phase”, with fewer sales and falling prices.
He attributed the decline to “affordability constraints” and interest rate rises in the past year.
“The key to how the market performs in 2011 and beyond will depend on the strength of the local economy. At this stage fundamentals are still strong, especially population growth, employment and consumer confidence.”
The REIV data showed mixed results for coastal prices, with Ocean Grove falling from $540,000 in December to $470,000 in March but Torquay rising $19,000 to $541,000.
