Cashed-up buyers fork out millions for historic Warrnambool homes despite construction crunch

A combination of interest rate-induced hesitation and a construction crunch has drawn out listing times and slashed auction numbers across Warrnambool but has done little to dampen interest in central period style homes.

Property valuation company Herron Todd White's June report shows buyer confidence in vintage villas remains strong.

Brian O'Halloran and Co director Brian Hancock recently sold the 1905-built period home at 42 Howard Street for a hefty sum of $1.3 million, stating bidders were happy to look past the scale of works.

"People who can afford a nice central property will be in a situation where they will want to buy and the market won't matter that much - the demand is still there," he said.

"We had about 160 inquiries for Howard Street. They were from all over - interstate, out-of-town and local.

"It hadn't been lived in for 25 years but it had a lot of aesthetic feel from the Victorian era."

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Harris and Wood Real Estate agent Danny Harris said period homes remained a worthwhile investment during market changes.

"People 100 years ago predominantly picked the best locations," he said.

"Any depreciation with the styling of those Victorian-era or period homes also happened probably 80 to 90 years ago.

"For a while after they were built they may not have been very cool, Edwardian would have been 'in' but now it's being very well sought-after ever since then and always will be.

"That mid-century modern, blonde-brick home and other stuff that was built in the 60s may have been the 'uglier' option in the 80s but that's not the case now - people also receive those really well."

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