“Bendigo tends to have a consistent price cycle, although it has waned over the past three or four years in terms of annual growth,” he said. “I expect your growth to continue this year (so far this year up 1.5 per cent on 2015), but I think challenges are emerging in this market and I think they’re economic challenges.”

While regional markets are generally flatter, Wilson says large regional markets such as Bendigo also tend to be influenced by the bigger picture. He mentioned Melbourne’s strong population growth, which is pushing jobless numbers down and ultimately strengthening its economy. “That’s the energy that works its way into Bendigo, Victoria’s strongest regional market,” he said. “You’ve just got to make sure the pipeline is open to take advantage of it in this economy and this market.”

That said, it’s factors such as local construction, job rate and population growth that also determine how Bendigo’s real estate market will play out in the future. Wilson said the city’s construction figures are down, with 900 dwellings built last year, compared with 1133 the year prior. While still relatively low, Wilson reported that at 3.9 per cent, Bendigo’s jobless rate is higher than the same time last year, and with a 1.3 per cent rise in 2015, the city’s population growth has fallen to it lowest figure in almost 10 years. “I think declining population is one of the issues here,” said Wilson. “Population growth is important. What drives regional housing markets is people coming here to live, not just the birth rate, and I’m not sure you’re getting the same push of people moving into the region as you have previously, which isn’t good for the local economy.”

Wilson reasoned that the real estate industry is more exposed to a volatile business cycle than other industries because so much relies on confidence going forward, in what is for most people the biggest purchase of their life. “I believe that confidence factor will become less of a factor in the housing cycle and it will become more about personal issues that make you want to buy and sell a house, rather than if it’s a good time to buy or sell,” he said. “And that’s a good thing. We go through these boom/bust cycles (and) a flatter cycle in the future is an absolute positive for the real estate industry. It means that companies can plan with more certainty because they have a more fixed view of where the market will be in 12 months.”