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Another $2 million home for sale in Bendigo signals the top end of the city’s property market continues to strengthen, real estate agents have said.
The five-bedroom, four-bathroom home at 55 Barkly Street carries a price tag between $2.2 and $2.35 million.
It is at least the third residential property in Bendigo this year to have an asking price beyond $2 million.
The 160-year-old building was originally a pair of mine managers’ cottages, but is now a double-fronted house on a 1012-square-metre block.
It’s luxury features include a kitchen equipped with European appliances, parking space for four cars and a self-cleaning swimming pool.
Agent Matt Leonard believed the house could be bought by a professional already living in Bendigo.
“Saying that, though, there's a lot of attention for these types of property from outside (the city),” he said.
Despite multi-million-dollar home sales becoming more common, Domain chief economist Andrew Wilson said the overall Bendigo market was softening.
While his company’s house price report found the cost of homes in regional centres like Wodonga and Ballarat climbed last quarter, Bendigo’s average fell three per cent, down to $328,000.
“House prices in Bendigo decreased sharply over the quarter, as local market activity levels out after a period of solid growth,” Mr Wilson said.
“Recent weakness in Bendigo’s local economy could be driving a softer housing market.”
But Real Estate Institute of Victoria Bendigo chairman Craig Webster said he did not agree with this assessment of the Bendigo economy.
“I’m not getting that sort of feedback,” he said.
“Everyone locally is still very positive.”
There was, however, a lull in property sales in the $500,000 to $1 million price range, an assessment with which Mr Leonard agreed.
”Anyone looking in that price point, it's not their first home, so rather than purchasing and borrowing, it just looks like a lot of people are sitting tight,” Mr Leonard said.
“There's an exceptionally good buy in that price point and it shouldn't be overlooked.”
It was not always easy to sell a multi-million dollar home, either. The View Street home of Jimmy Possum founders Margot and Alan Spalding went on the market for $2.95 million in April but has since had $500,000 sliced off its advertised price.
But Mr Webster said it was the building’s unusual combination of retail and living spaces that made it a tougher prospect to sell.