Covid sends tree changers flocking to Daylesford and Hepburn Shire

It has long been one of Melbourne’s favourite playgrounds, but Daylesford and Hepburn Shire is attracting more than the usual attention this year.

Vale Hill Farm at Ullina near Daylesford sold recently.

It has long been one of Melbourne’s favourite playgrounds, but Daylesford and Hepburn Shire is attracting more than the usual attention this year.

Big-ticket property sales have been notched up, some within days of listing, and Spa Country real estate agents are reporting a surge in buyer interest, particularly from those still locked down in Melbourne.

“COVID has enhanced people’s desire for a simpler lifestyle,” says Kim McQueen, director of local agent McQueen Broadhurst Real Estate. “It’s been a long-held dream for many people to live in the country, but their Monday to Friday professional lives have never allowed that. Now, finally, people are saying ‘we can do it’.”

She describes the buyer interest as “unprecedented” and says: “week on week, we have new and better stories to tell”.

At 5pm last Friday, Ms McQueen launched a listing at around the $1m mark, telling her vendors it would likely take a few months to sell. It had sold by 2pm the next day.

Ms McQueen says many of her recent listings have been snapped up sight unseen, with inspections and negotiations via FaceTime.

Belle Property Daylesford principal director Will Walton says his office usually sells eight to 10 properties per month. In July, it sold 30.

“We were Belle Property’s No 1 Victorian agency in July and that level of buyer interest has continued.” Half of his agency’s recent sales have been sealed over FaceTime and video links to Melbourne buyers.

“The new work-from-home ­arrangements have made people re-evaluate the need to live in high-density housing in the city,” Mr Walton says.

Ms McQueen and her fellow director Robert Broadhurst found a buyer for Hillcrest House in ­August at $2.68m within a week of listing the 1800s bluestone property. Sold by Wayne Cross and Chris Malden, founders of high-end hospitality chain Spa Country, the gorgeous four-bedroom home sits on 3042sq m with views across the historic village of Clunes.

McQueen Broadhurst has also just sold another high-end property, Vale Hill Farm at Ullina 30 minutes drive from Daylesford. The property, set on 4ha, comprises an 1858 miner’s cottage that has been meticulously restored and extended to create a four-bedroom home. Ms McQueen cannot disclose the selling price, but local sources said it had been expected to sell for between $3m and $3.3m.

The chic barn-style residence at Porcupine Ridge sold for $1.317m.

Five bidders, only one of whom had inspected the property in person, also pushed a chic barn-style residence at 65 Woolnoughs Road, Porcupine Ridge — a nine-minute drive from Daylesford — from its initial price guide of $900,000-$990,000 to an eventual sale price of $1.317m, also through McQueen Broadhurst.

Belle Property’s Mr Walton says 80 per cent of the region’s sales come from Melbourne and his office is gearing up for an influx of buyers once COVID-19 restrictions ease in the state’s capital.

Many of his buyers opt for a tree-change, drawn to the region by its cafe culture, great lifestyle and proximity both to Melbourne (one and a half hours away by car) and to prestigious private schools in Ballarat. “Our region is a little like Fitzroy or Prahran, but in the country,” he says.

Daylesford’s main selling point for property investors is its year-round popularity. “We don’t rely on snow or surf, people come here all through the year,” Mr Walton says. Investors have earned up to 14 per cent on local holiday rental properties, as their popularity is not tied to either a summer or ­winter season.

Ms McQueen says the prices for property in regional Victoria appeal to those moving from Melbourne. “People are able to sell their homes for $2m to $3m and can buy a beautiful property in country Victoria for half of that.”