Geelong and Surf Coast home prices surge

Geelong and the Surf Coast finished 2016 with house and unit prices rising strongly as the local regions reflected the nation-leading strength of the Greater Melbourne housing market.

The Geelong median house price increased by a stunning 8.2 per cent over the December quarter to a new record high of $449,000. Geelong house prices increased by 10.2 percent over 2016 with buyer momentum clearly on the rise through the year. Over the past 5 years, the Geelong median house price has now risen by 26.5 per cent

Geelong unit prices also reported a strong result over the December quarter with the median increasing by 2.1 per cent to $295,000 – the highest quarterly growth rate of the year. Although the Geelong unit market finished the year on a positive note, annual unit prices fell by 4.2 per cent.

Similar to Geelong, the Surf Coast recorded strong growth over the December quarter with median house price increasing by 7.9 per cent to $728,000 – over $700,000 for the first time. Surf coast unit price were up by 1.8 per cent over the quarter to a median of $580,000. House prices on the Surf Coast increased by 6.7 per cent over 2016, with annual unit prices rising by 13.7 per cent.

The adjacent Melbourne housing market also finished 2016 on a high with the median house price increasing over the December quarter by 3.6 per cent to a record high $795,447. Melbourne house prices rose by 10.3 per cent over 2016 and have now increased sharply by 48.0 per cent over the past 5 years

Melbourne is clearly the nation’s most consistent capital city housing market having now reported a remarkable 17 consecutive quarters of house price growth – a record breaking performance.

Melbourne unit prices increased by 2.4 per cent over the December quarter to a median of $459,181. Despite the solid quarterly performance, Melbourne unit prices have risen just 2.8 per cent over the past year.

Dr Andrew Wilson is Domain Group Chief Economist Twitter@DocAndrewWilson join on LinkedIn