Get more bang for your buck with property in the country
WHEN it comes to property, you can get much more bang for your buck in the country. KIRRILY CARBERRY compares the homesteads with the hovels.
WHEN it comes to property, you can get much more bang for your buck in the country.
Despite house prices starting to come off the boil in Melbourne, the urban median house price is still double that of regional Victoria.
According to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria, Melbourne’s median house price last quarter was $840,000, compared to $420,000 in regional areas.
So while $1 million won’t get you much more than a shoebox apartment or a rundown home in need of some serious TLC in Sydney or Melbourne, in the country you could bag yourself a historic homestead with acres of land.
Earlier this month a derelict three-bedroom, one-bathroom house in Melbourne’s inner north, complete with “enter at own risk” sign, sold at auction for $1.757 million — $307,000 past its reserve.
Meanwhile, Sydney’s finest home, Fairwater at Point Piper, last week hit the market and expected to fetch an eye-watering $100 million-plus.
Yet just a 2½-hour drive from Melbourne sits a historic five-bedroom homestead set on 24ha currently listed at under $1 million.
The Chateau, at Dookie, is a grand residence built in 1886 with price expectations of $880,000-$900,000 when auctioned next month.
Kevin Hicks Real Estate director Kevin Hicks said there had been strong interest in The Chateau, with 30-40 inquiries over the weekend, with many people surprised by the price.
“They are asking what’s wrong with it,” Mr Hicks said.
“They are predominantly city-based looking for a tree change. At that price some would use it for a holiday home,” he said.
“If you moved that property to Dandenong it would probably be $1.25 million.”
“Demand in the country continues to increase, but not to the same volumes of the city.”
“You can get a lot of bang for your buck in the country,” Mr Hicks said.
In North East Victoria’s Strathbogie, the 4ha lifestyle property Pomona, which includes not one, but three, stunning stone buildings, is for sale for $849,000.
In Central Victoria, $1-$1.1 million could get you Ed’s Hill, an architecturally designed Mt Gambier limestone homestead on 58ha. The three to four bedroom home at Glenhope comes with a billiard room and even has its own tennis court.
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In the city for not much less you could get a two-bedroom, one-bathroom home on 90 square metres in South Melbourne.
Or $900,000 could get you a detached three-bedroom, one-bath, weatherboard in need of renovation on 185 square metres in Collingwood.
While a two-bedroom, one-bath house on 129 square metres in Port Melbourne sold at auction on Saturday for $980,000.
Ruralco Property’s Steven Jeffery at Euroa said buyers often commented their dollar went a lot further in the country.
“We have people say they sell their place for a $1 million-plus on 600 square metres (in the city), and they come out here and can get something on 10 acres for half that price,” Mr Jeffery said.
“We hear a lot that everything is getting smaller and built (in the city).
“They are buying more into a lifestyle, more peace and quiet, a bit of a slower pace, everything is bigger and not so crammed in.”
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