Kyabram, Woodend, Maffra: Where regional house prices increase the most in 2023

Three small Victorian towns have topped the state, recording double-digit house price growth. See the top 20 towns where values increased last year.

The country charm and value of several small regional Victorian towns has attracted a suite of buyers, helping them record staggering house price growth in the past year.

Northern Victoria’s Kyabram, Woodend near the Macedon Ranges and the Gippsland dairy town of Maffra all recorded the biggest median house price increase in regional Victoria, with all three recording double-digit growth in the 12 months to December 2023.

In Kyabram the median house price jumped 19 per cent to $475,000, while in Woodend the median house price cleared the $1 million-mark, growing 15.9 per cent to $1.055 million.

In Maffra there was an 11.9 per cent increase in the median house price, which climbed from $388,000 to $434,000.

H & G Real Estate director John Lilford said a strong buyer pool from Melbourne and demand for recently unlocked land was driving their market in Kyabram.

“I would say we are booming here, it is very hard for someone to find a tradesman, they are all so busy,” he said.

“A lot of people are relocating to the area, especially people from Melbourne coming for a quieter lifestyle.

“Our Melbourne buyers have found they can sell their property in the city and purchase one in Kyabram with plenty leftover.

“The prices in Kyabram are also that bit lower than in the likes of Echuca or Shepparton, so there was that room for prices to grow.

Meanwhile in the state’s southeast, Maffra Real Estate agent Paul Bourke said it was a similar story for the Wellington shire town.

“The market in Maffra is strong, but I would say it is patchy. Some homes are selling quickly while others aren’t sold as quickly,” Mr Bourke said.

“We have especially found those that might sell a house on the eastern side of Melbourne, moving down here and getting a really nice home for $600,000-$650,000.”

Across regional Victoria 16 suburbs recorded more than a 2 per cent increase in the median house price across last year including Benalla (7.4 per cent), Red Cliffs (6.3 per cent) and Wodonga (3.6 per cent).

Regional Victorian housing prices have also largely held their post-Covid boom values across much of the state, settling at $607,000 to end last year, almost matching the corresponding figure from December 2022 at $611,000.

Whereas in the Melbourne metro market, the median house sale price for the final quarter of last year dipped to $909,000, a 6.2 per cent decline on the $970,000 figure for the December 2022 quarter.