Property prices in Bendigo increased eight times as much as the regional Victorian average in the June quarter, according to the latest data from the Real Estate Institute of Victoria.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Bendigo's quarterly price change from March to June was 0.8 per cent, compared to the regional Victorian average of 0.1 per cent.
Some Bendigo suburbs fared better than others, with sales prices in Epsom and White Hills up 3.4 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively, while prices in Eaglehawk were up 1.5 per cent.
Median sale prices in Strathdale and Golden Square were down one per cent and 0.4 per cent.
In the 12 months to the June quarter, the median sale price has increased by 3.7 per cent in regional Victoria, while the median sale price in Bendigo has risen $38,000 from $504,000 to $542,000.
Bendigo Real Estate principal Nekti Tzouroutis is not surprised the market has remained strong amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"With the affordability of house prices in Bendigo, even if the pandemic gets a little bit worse, I can't see things going backwards in Bendigo," Mr Tzouroutis said.
The latest restrictions enforced by the Victorian government have done little to stop the flow of sales enquiries from Melbourne buyers and investors, according to Mr Tzouroutis.
"Ever since the restrictions have come to fruition in Melbourne, we have had several dozen calls from people asking how they can look at property," he said.
"We are conducting Zoom and virtual tours of homes and I did two Zoom tours on the weekend myself."
Tweed Sutherland First National director Matt Leonard said the figures from the June quarter don't tell the full story.
"We had an incredible May and June and those properties will settle in next quarter," Mr Leonard said.
"The fact that the market has remained stable to the end of June is a good sign though."
In metropolitan Melbourne, prices dropped 3.5 per cent in the June quarter, but in the past 12 months are up 6.1 per cent.
REIV president Leah Calnan said that despite COVID-19, the market is stronger than it was in 2019.
"Many pundits predicted doom and gloom amid crashes for Victorian property prices and that just hasn't happened," Ms Calnan said.
"Prices haven't tumbled. Any home up for sale in Victoria is swamped with interest from buyers."