The Andrews government last July doubled the First Home Owners Grant for buyers outside of Melbourne as part of efforts to spur population growth in regional areas and improve housing affordability. 

But PRDnationwide director for Bendigo Tom Isaacs said the move, which saw the payment upped to $20,000, hadn't resulted in any visible influx of first home buyers.

"The grant is good, it's certainly probably stimulated some economic growth and business, but I don't think it's had the desired effect on first home owners," Isaacs said. "They don't seem to be exactly the market, or perhaps the yearn to be a home owner among first home owners has gone away a little bit."

Isaacs said that second and third home buyers, mainly young families and retirees drawn by more affordable living costs, continued to make up the bulk of those relocating from Melbourne and other metro areas.

"There's no end date being put on the first home owners grant," he said. "So it's being left open, which has meant that people probably aren't forced to make a quick decision."

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Tony Munday, a senior salesperson at Luke Goggin Real Estate, also said he'd seen no evidence of the grant scheme bringing first home owners to Bendigo.

"They haven't been rushing here, that's for sure," he said.

 The Victorian government has promoted the scheme as a way to invigorate regional areas, with Treasurer Tim Pallas last week saying that young people in regions had "even more reason to live locally — making it easier for them to build their first home.”

Applications for the grant rose from 394 in the first half of 2017 to some 1,000 in the last six months of the year, according to the state government.

Greater Bendigo was among the top 10 locations for uptake of the grant, along with Geelong, Ballarat, Bacchus Marsh, Mildura, Wodonga, Traralgon and Romsey-Kilmore.

Bendigo East MP Jactina Allan has been contacted for comment.