Agents were forced to conduct inspections online while many prospective buyers were required to live with heavy restrictions.

Ararat Ballarat Real Estate sales consultant Aidan Moar said 2021 was a "majorly successful year" for the business.

"Coming through the pandemic in 2020 and coming into 2021 not knowing what was ahead of us, it turned out to be a very successful year being able to overcome all of those challenges," he said.

"Being able to overcome a lot of struggles, working from home, uncertainty around inspections and still being able to work through and sell a large amount of properties."

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Mr Moar said the organisation was able to learn and adjust working during the pandemic in 2020.

"It is always a work in progress, obviously rules and legislation were always changing so being able to adapt and overcome pretty quickly definitely worked in our favour," he said.

"We were resilient and were able to work through a tough situation, we definitely came out better for it."

The median house price in Ararat before the pandemic was $210,000 and in early 2022 the median price is $280,000 according to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria.

"Supply and demand is the main reason for the increase, with very few properties on the market and strong market interest," Mr Moar said.

"Obviously a lot of people looking to relocate as well, investors and having a strong amount of low vacancy rates from rental properties.

"COVID-19 has been great for the Ararat market."

Mr Moar said a highlight of 2021 was the amount of high priced properties sold.

"Being able to sell multiple properties over the $800,000 price range in Ararat is a great achievement for everyone," he said.

"That price range hasn't really been seen in previous years.

"At the moment we have got the property at 258 Western Highway which is a fantastic property which is priced at $975,000 to $995,000 on an acre with a swimming pool in that price range."

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Mr Moar said the festive period was a busy time for the real estate market in Ararat.

"It has been fantastic, January is often one of our busiest months of the year," he said.

"We have seen some really strong buyer interest from out of town buyers looking to relocate and looking to invest.

"We have also received strong inquiry levels across all buyer categories.

"With Ararat being the gateway to the Grampians during the holiday period we always see a lot of traffic travelling through."

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