Latest news with #ManifoldHeights
News.com.au
a day ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Have your wages kept pace with post-Covid growth in Geelong
The level of household income needed to comfortably afford to break in to the property market in Geelong has risen over the past five years despite home prices remaining in the doldrums. Exclusive Canstar research reveals how much wages have failed to keep pace with the property market in the five years since the start of the pandemic. More tellingly, it reveals how much outside of actual home prices impacts people's ability to break in to the market. The figures show the level of household income to buy in a suburb of Geelong and pay less than 30 per cent on mortgage repayments has risen between about $40,000 to almost $140,000, depending on the suburb you buy in. Four suburbs require an income of less than $100,000 – Norlane, Corio, Thomson and Whittington. But the amount required has climbed between $37,000 and $44,000 in the past five years. A median priced house in Armstrong Creek requires a $121,000 household income, a $51,000 increase, while a similar rise pushes the annual wage to buy in Belmont to $130,000. A typical household income required to buy in Geelong West rose $66,000 to $158,000. But the biggest rise was in Manifold Heights, where the median house price has reached $1.26m off the back of a sharp rise this year. A household now needs a $235,000 income to comfortably afford to buy in this high-end suburb. Canstar director of research Sally Tindall said the study showed the widening generational wealth gap. 'It is astonishing to see just what kind of income is required to get a foot on the property ladder these days,' Ms Tindall said. 'My concern is that this is shutting people out. It creates this divide between those already in the property market and those that are struggling to land a foot on the property ladder. 'What we are seeing anecdotally is that those families who have property are passing down the wealth they have created through home ownership down generations, further deepening that divide,' Ms Tindall said. 'The Bank of Mum and Dad is becoming more of a thing.' At $720,000, Geelong's median house price is 23 per cent higher than it was in 2020, even though it's 9 per cent lower than three years ago. Part of what was fuelling the incredible rise in property prices was the burgeoning amount of equity upgraders had behind them to channel into their next purchases, Ms Tindall said. 'Very few people have had the kind of pay rises needed to keep pace with the market. For most people, the only way they've kept up is because they already own property. Success breeds success.' The problem for first-home buyers was that getting a foot on the first rung of the property ladder was becoming more challenging, robbing them of the chance to also benefit from future equity gains, she said. 'Fundamentally, the issue facing first-home buyers across the country is that prices are too high and their wages can't keep up. 'There are a range of complex reasons we have this problem, but one of the primary factors is that we don't have enough housing supply and we are not building enough to satisfy demand.' Zippy Financial principal broker Louisa Sanghera said more buyers were amassing smaller deposits and paying lenders mortgage insurance to get in sooner. 'Waiting for a 20 per cent deposit isn't realistic anymore,' she said. 'If they wait, the market moves on without them.' Ms Sanghera said even strong earners were hitting serviceability roadblocks. 'Banks are stress-testing at nine per cent,' she said. 'Add rising living costs, and many buyers can't borrow what they'd hoped.' Have your wages kept pace with post-Covid growth Suburb Property type Median value Gross income needed Difference in gross income over five years Anglesea H $1,350,000 $252,188 $121,110 Armstrong Creek H $650,000 $121,424 $51,203 Bannockburn H $785,000 $146,643 $69,066 Barwon Heads H $1,420,000 $265,264 $114,123 Bell Park H $611,000 $114,139 $49,034 Bell Post Hill H $660,000 $123,292 $58,421 Belmont H $700,000 $130,764 $55,996 Charlemont H $615,500 $114,979 $43,421 Clifton Springs H $652,600 $121,910 $55,969 Corio H $490,000 $91,535 $43,785 Curlewis H $638,250 $119,229 $45,932 Drysdale H $710,000 $132,632 $51,377 East Geelong H $765,000 $142,907 $55,967 Geelong H $880,000 $164,389 $70,561 Geelong West H $850,000 $158,785 $66,495 Grovedale H $663,000 $123,853 $54,301 Hamlyn Heights H $720,000 $134,501 $60,936 Herne Hill H $700,000 $130,764 $59,373 Highton H $861,000 $160,840 $67,413 Indented Head H $700,000 $130,764 $48,439 Jan Juc H $1,270,000 $237,244 $115,528 Lara H $680,000 $127,028 $54,667 Leopold H $650,000 $121,424 $51,872 Lorne H $1,557,500 $290,950 $98,011 Lovely Banks H $840,000 $156,917 $79,741 Manifold Heights H $1,260,000 $235,376 $138,739 Marshall H $630,000 $117,688 $52,416 Mount Duneed H $700,000 $130,764 $54,993 Newcomb H $550,000 $102,744 $42,488 Newtown H $1,150,000 $214,827 $95,118 Norlane H $451,000 $84,250 $37,436 North Geelong H $610,000 $113,952 $40,655 Ocean Grove H $955,000 $178,400 $84,505 Point Lonsdale H $1,207,500 $225,568 $112,546 Portarlington H $863,500 $161,307 $77,878 St Albans Park H $585,000 $109,282 $52,403 St Leonards H $720,000 $134,501 $60,268 Teesdale H $990,000 $184,938 $92,314 Thomson H $512,500 $95,738 $40,698 Torquay H $1,175,000 $219,497 $111,090 Wandana Heights H $925,000 $172,796 $66,027 Waurn Ponds H $765,500 $143,000 $57,063 Whittington H $529,000 $98,821 $44,082 Winchelsea H $650,000 $121,424 $61,235 Have your wages kept pace with post-Covid growth Suburb Property type Median value Gross income needed Difference in gross income over five years Bell Park U $507,000 $94,711 $42,547 Belmont U $538,000 $100,502 $44,593 Drysdale U $547,500 $102,277 $48,107 Geelong U $615,000 $114,886 $44,532 Geelong West U $387,500 $72,388 $17,549 Grovedale U $496,250 $92,703 $36,551 Hamlyn Heights U $530,750 $99,148 $38,892 Herne Hill U $368,000 $68,745 $29,956 Highton U $500,000 $93,403 $38,564 Lara U $447,500 $83,596 $33,104 Leopold U $483,000 $90,228 $37,395 Newcomb U $478,000 $89,294 $39,805 Newtown U $575,000 $107,414 $47,894 Norlane U $380,000 $70,987 $30,861 Ocean Grove U $741,000 $138,423 $54,158 Torquay U $880,000 $164,389 $75,844 Whittington U $365,000 $68,185 $27,390
News.com.au
20-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
High-end flip adds more than $350,000 to Geelong character home
Owners who flipped an inner-Geelong character home will walk away having added more than $350,000 to its value in less than three years. The owners upgraded the kitchen and bathrooms and did plenty of cosmetic work to update the three-bedroom Californian bungalow at 3 Lascelles Ave, Manifold Heights, for which they paid $835,000 in late 2022. Now the 483sq m property near a Shannon Ave shopping strip is worth $1.2m, selling in a post-auction deal. Oslo Property agent Curtis Hoare said the buyer snapped up the property after it had passed in at auction. But Mr Hoare said there were other potential purchasers floating around to raise their interest following Saturday's auction. 'Post auction we had a bit of interest, it was pretty popular,' Mr Hoare said. 'We had about 30 buyers throughout the campaign. It was a beautiful, stunning period home.' Mr Hoare said the owner had purchased it with the intention of flipping the property. 'They're a builder by trade and did an absolutely beautiful, contemporary renovation. The build added $365,000 to the home's value, a 43 per cent increase in three years. In that same time, Manifold Heights median house price of $1.26m has increased 29 per cent, according to PropTrack data. The home had already been extended by a previous owner, but the new renovations took that work to a new level. Removing an original fireplace that was floating in the rear, open-plan living area added to the sense of space for a family. The new kitchen showcased stone waterfall benches with an integrated breakfast bar, custom cabinetry and a freestanding Smeg dual fuel cooker. Tiling and VJ panelling added to the style, complementing other features such as full height custom window furnishings. Feature VJ panelling was also used in the main bedroom, which also benefited from an upgrade to the ensuite including a walk-in shower with dual heads. The main bathroom has a floating dual vanity with underbench storage, dual mirrors with concealed storage, a tub and walk-in shower with a wall niche. New electrical and plumbing work was also done inside the walls, along with diamond leaded windows and ducted heating and cooling. Mr Hoare said the next level the renovations took the home to were an attraction for the buyers. 'Just the quality of the build itself – extremely high quality care and very thoughtful done as well.'
News.com.au
09-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Geelong's next $1m suburbs, emerging areas revealed
Seven new million dollar suburbs and two with a median house price above $2m would emerge in Geelong as new analysis predicts what home prices could be in 2030. The PropTrack predictions cements the rise of coastal towns as the region's most expensive areas to buy a home but reserves the pinnacle for the inner west Geelong suburb of Manifold Heights. The PropTrack modelling uses the past five years' growth in each suburb on the next five years. Geelong West, Highton, Geelong, Wandana Heights, Portarlington, Ocean Grove and Bannockburn would reach $1m median house prices in 2030, the analysis shows. Norlane would remain the region's cheapest market for houses, but with a median price of $593,000, while the ripple effect would see suburbs such as Herne Hill, Hamlyn Heights breach $900,000. Manifold Heights is one of Geelong's smallest suburbs but benefits from proximity to Newtown's college precinct, with a single-dwelling covenant that caps the number of homes. A $1.26m median house price could balloon to $2.2m by 2030 if the 76 per cent growth trajectory is achieved. While it's an unlikely outcome, the analysis underlines how renovations, extensions and rebuilds have improved values in the suburb where block sizes are typically bigger. Buxton, Newtown agent Ben Riddle said a lot of people have capitalised on the growth in Manifold Heights, but a $2m median house price was a 'highly ambitious' target. He said a few big sales can dramatically skew the suburb, but there are a lot of things going its way, especially the proximity to private schools and shopping. 'We've found that people have been happy to stay in Manifold Heights because the infrastructure between Minerva Rd and Shannon Ave has got a lot better with a lot more offerings,' Mr Riddle said. 'While I feel Geelong has a really good profile and growth is almost assured with interest rates coming down, the rate of growth will be tempered, especially in the next year, by the fact our state government's got heavy levies on property owners.' The modelling offers more balanced predictions for most suburbs across Geelong as the region ends a boom-and-bust cycle that saw price growth reach unsustainable levels on the back of a Covid exodus from Melbourne before rising interest rates caused a hard correction that leaves the market 11 per cent below the last peak. Geelong buyers advocate Tony Slack said the fact the data balances rises and falls means most of the predictions were plausible. 'Our market is always slow and steady. It might plateau, then have a slight increase, then plateau. Very rarely are there any troughs – after (the) Pyramid (collapse) maybe, but even through the global financial crisis we didn't see any.' The modelling reveals moderate growth suburbs may offer more stable opportunities for buyers, including Geelong, Highton and Belmont, the latter two which are Geelong's biggest markets for established houses and where unit values are also rising. Emerging suburbs that have lower house prices but show significant growth include St Albans Park, Corio and Winchelsea. PropTrack senior economist Angus Moore said home prices were expected to rise this year on the back of falling interest rates boosting buyers' borrowing capacities. 'However, we're certainly not expecting to see anything like the pace of growth that we saw in 2021 when prices grew incredibly quickly,' he said. Hayeswinckle director Michelle Winckle said the draw of the Barwon River to families buying in Highton would become more valuable the further Geelong's urban boundaries expanded. 'It's always going to appeal to families. You've got larger blocks, you're close to schools and you're on the side near the Barwon River,' Ms Winckle said. Buxton Highton agent David Gray said it's wasn't overreach to expect Highton could be a $1m suburb in 2030, and Belmont at $850,000. 'Particularly when you look at some of the more recent results of $1.5m to high $1.8m not just up in the Province estate, but in old Highton.' A suburb such as St Albans Park often escapes attention because it's an outlying area, but deserves to see strong growth, Mr Slack said. 'There are good, well-built homes, good land, good streets. There is so much to like in St Albans Park – it seems that because it's an outlying suburb it doesn't enter the conversation as much as others.' What Geelong home values could be in 2030 Suburb Property type Current median sale price 5 year % change Median sale price in 2030 Anglesea House $1,433,000 46% $2,094,000 Armstrong Creek House $650,000 24% $805,000 Bannockburn House $780,000 38% $1,077,000 Barwon Heads House $1,415,000 26% $1,780,000 Bell Park House $611,000 26% $768,000 Bell Post Hill House $663,000 37% $905,000 Belmont House $690,000 23% $850,000 Belmont Unit $545,000 30% $709,000 Charlemont House $620,000 18% $732,000 Clifton Springs House $653,000 32% $862,000 Corio House $490,000 37% $673,000 Curlewis House $645,000 18% $762,000 Drysdale House $743,000 22% $904,000 East Geelong House $763,000 17% $894,000 Geelong House $880,000 25% $1,104,000 Geelong Unit $610,000 15% $702,000 Geelong West House $858,000 24% $1,067,000 Geelong West Unit $430,000 4% $446,000 Grovedale House $672,000 30% $876,000 Grovedale Unit $500,000 20% $600,000 Hamlyn Heights House $709,000 29% $913,000 Hamlyn Heights Unit $510,000 17% $596,000 Herne Hill House $691,000 31% $905,000 Herne Hill Unit $355,000 22% $435,000 Highton House $869,000 24% $1,078,000 Highton Unit $500,000 20% $602,000 Jan Juc House $1,260,000 42% $1,794,000 Lara House $685,000 26% $866,000 Lara Unit $450,000 19% $534,000 Leopold House $655,000 26% $825,000 Lovely Banks House $785,000 18% $929,000 Manifold Heights House $1,260,000 76% $2,213,000 Marshall House $630,000 30% $818,000 Mount Duneed House $703,000 24% $872,000 Newcomb House $550,000 24% $681,000 Newtown House $1,178,000 32% $1,554,000 Newtown Unit $575,000 22% $700,000 Norlane House $456,000 30% $593,000 North Geelong House $620,000 16% $719,000 Ocean Grove House $965,000 37% $1,321,000 Ocean Grove Unit $761,000 21% $919,000 Point Lonsdale House $1,130,000 34% $1,511,000 Portarlington House $853,000 35% $1,149,000 St Albans Park House $585,000 38% $805,000 St Leonards House $720,000 30% $934,000 Thomson House $510,000 24% $632,000 Torquay House $1,190,000 47% $1,750,000 Wandana Heights House $930,000 14% $1,057,000 Waurn Ponds House $780,000 21% $947,000 Whittington House $520,000 33% $693,000 Winchelsea House $650,000 46% $947,000
