Despite the uncertainty gripping the state, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, real estate within parts of regional Victoria has grown in the past three months.
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In its quarterly report, the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) reported a 2.6 percent jump in the median price of houses in Ararat since March, from $226,000 to $233,000.
These new figures significantly outperformed the overall regional Victoria data, which saw a quarterly growth of just 0.1 percent, with the median price still $420,000.
Ararat Ballarat Real Estate senior sales consultant Brad Jensen said that although the growth seen in the recent quarter does coincide with the COVID-19 outbreak, it doesn't tell the whole story.
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"The main reasons are twofold," he said.
"People are seeing that the regional lifestyle has a lot to offer, and they are looking to escape the rat race of Melbourne.
"The feedback that we get from being on the ground and dealing with the buyers directly is that the majority of them are out of Melbourne.
"I would also say that about 65 percent of those buyers are making the tree change and 35 percent are investing."
Mr Jensen said affordability is the other core factor, with houses in Ararat $187,000 less than the state average.
"We've seen a lot of people in Melbourne retire up here," he said.
"They are moving from the suburbs out here. That's just in the Ararat residential market, but we are seeing a lot of growth in interest in lifestyle properties, so two to 20 acre lots.
"There have been a lot of people enquiring about making the tree change."
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The good news is that Mr Jensen does not forecast the boom ending soon.
"We expect it to remain constant," he said.
"In years gone by, when Melbourne has seen massive growth, we don't see that direct growth; we just stay slow and steady.
"Even in the past, when markets have dropped, we don't drop either, we just see that consistent slow pace.
"I can only see it going up because of the affordability factor."
Ballarat recorded a 1.5 percent quarterly growth.
Notably, a trend not seen in Ararat is the rapid rise in the median price of units.
REIV reported 13.6 percent rise across regional Victoria, up from $229,000 to $339,000.
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