The surging Warrnambool district property market will again be in the spotlight on Saturday with two auctions scheduled as agents report unprecedented demand.
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Warrnambool-based Wilsons Real Estate revealed this week it has had more than 1200 buyer inquiries in the past four months.
In January, 331 people inquired about buying a property in the south-west, agent Lucas Wilson said.
"In December and January we had the highest number of inquiries since we've kept records of them," Mr Wilson said.
This was compared with 162 inquiries in January 2020.
Mr Wilson said the demand was as high as it was when the city was booming in the early 2000s. He said high demand for properties and a shortage of listings made it a great time to sell a home.
"If anyone is contemplating selling a property there's a great opportunity to have buyers competing for it," he said. Mr Wilson said most listed properties were being snapped up fast, with the vendor achieving a price higher than listed and multiple bids. He said there was interest in all price ranges when it came to Warrnambool properties.
Mr Wilson said low interest rates and the high cost of renting was seeing more people decide to buy.
He said there was also a trend of people deciding to move out of metropolitan areas following the coronavirus pandemic.
"Every indication suggests the market is going to continue to be this strong," he said.
"A lot of people are looking for the lifestyle property with a few acres, there's a lot of buyers looking to invest and first home buyers," he said.
The Standard revealed earlier this week clearance rates for Warrnambool properties were higher than they had been in recent years.
A revamped three-bedroom house on a lifestyle property in Willatook will be auctioned at 10am today while a three-bedroom home in Liebig Street goes on the market for the first time in four decades.
It will be auctioned at 11am on Saturday.
Research revealed recently house prices rose further in January to surpass their previous 2017 peak with regional property values growing at twice the pace of capital city markets.
The CoreLogic national home value index was up 0.9 per cent in January to stand one per cent higher than its pre-COVID level and 0.7 per cent higher than the previous September 2017 peak.
CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said the divergence between metro and regional housing demand in Victoria and NSW was more substantial than in other states.
He said more people were choosing to leave Melbourne and Sydney for regional areas.
"Better housing affordability, an opportunity for a lifestyle upgrade and lower density housing options are other factors that might be contributing to this trend, along with the new found popularity of remote working arrangements," Mr Lawless said.
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