January real estate boom unprecedented

Phillip Island has been a hotspot for real estate in Victoria over January.

Since Melbourne emerged from COVID-19 lockdown, people have been snapping up the opportunity to buy real estate outside of metropolitan Melbourne. And sales are continuing to rise, even heading out of tourist season.

Michael McLeod from First National Real Estate in Cowes, speaking last week, said sales have been exceptionally strong throughout January.

“It is unprecedented, and sales are just continuing to rise,” he commented.

Some properties have been snapped up on the day they have been listed; with others in days of going on the market.

With steep competition, people can expect to pay more for their slice of coastal real estate.

However, Michael said Phillip Island is still offering relatively cheap coastal real estate, compared to some other areas across the state.

He said more people are looking for a place where they can live and work from home, but still easily commute to Melbourne when needed.

“Phillip Island and San Remo are the perfect positions for those buyers.”

Michael said that people wanting a lifestyle change and first home buyers were largely represented in the buyer’s market, but all sectors are “flying” at the moment.

“With the incentives offered by government, first home buyer sales are rising,” Michael said.

“Demand is currently outstripping supply which is causing even more competition in the marketplace.”

Greg Price, from Alex Scott Real Estate agreed, saying the demand for property locally has never been higher.

“It is the busiest January I have seen in my whole career,” he said.

Greg has noticed a strong trend with the amount of people buying a house to live in, rather than as an investment property.

“Due to the increased demand, there is more than one potential buyer for every property. This is causing houses to sell faster than they ever have,” he commented.

“There is competition across all areas of the market which we don’t usually see.”