PEOPLE in the Mount Alexander region will take longer to pay off a house than any other part of central Victoria, data from the Regional Australia Institute shows.
While people in neighbouring Greater Bendigo have a mortgage for an average of 21 years, residents in places like Castlemaine, Harcourt, Newstead and Maldon are in debt for an average of 35 years.
The RAI data showed while people in Mount Alexander earned $49,358 on average each year, the median house price was $476,842.
But Castlemaine Property Group director Brett Fitzpatrick said the data does not show the full story.
"For some years, at least 10 years comfortably, about 75-85 per cent of established residential properties in Castlemaine have been purchased by people from out of town," he said.
"We're predominately getting people from out of town coming into the market so less people who live in Castlemaine are purchasing property."
Locals were turning towards cheaper vacant blocks of land, Mr Fitzpatrick said, with about 70 per cent of land buyers from Castlemaine.
"Castlemaine itself and the immediate region seems to have its own appeal," he said. "It seems to have its own attraction that's not dependant upon market moves and influences.
"We don't really have a down cycle in the market beside the slow down in stock which we are experiencing at the moment.
"But the danger is that prices are higher, and while that's good for owners, it's not great for buyers."
The mortgage repayment length in Mount Alexander was similar to places like Hume and Wyndham on the outskirts of the Melbourne central business district.
People were also taking longer to pay off a mortgage in the Hepburn and Macedon Ranges regions, with residents taking on average 32 years to pay off their homes.
In Hepburn - which includes towns like Hepburn Springs, Daylesford, Trentham and Creswick - the median house price was $453,336 while the average annual income was $51,476.
For the Macedon Ranges - which includes towns like Gisborne, Kyneton and Woodend - the median house price was $613,366 while the average annual income was $67,995.
Despite parts of central Victoria seeing a continuing boom in property prices compared to wage growth, data shows the region is still more affordable than places like the Melbourne CBD.
For people living in the city and surrounding suburbs, it will take on average 52 years to pay off a house.
Those living in the inner city earn on average $72,309 each year while the median house price is $1,043,998.
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Tara Cosoleto
Journalist covering courts and general news at the Bendigo Advertiser.
Journalist covering courts and general news at the Bendigo Advertiser.
