Prices begin to shift after two-year pause as sales surge across key cities.
The first signs of revival are beginning to show in the Regional Victoria property market, where prices have been on pause for much of the past two years.
Hotspotting analysis of sales activity in the first quarter of 2025 detected early signs of increased buyer activity in Regional Victoria, and the June Quarter data has confirmed this. Transaction levels are now rising strongly in its leading regional cities and are at the highest level since the peak of the pandemic property boom at the end of 2021.
Sales volumes are now 16% higher than a year earlier and 28% higher than the same quarter two years ago. Bendigo, Geelong, Shepparton and Wodonga are leading the charge with rising sales activity which generally leads to future price growth.
In Bendigo, sales volumes are 41% higher in the June quarter and there are similar increases in Geelong and also in Shepparton. Shepparton’s market has been on a general upward trend in the past year and the number of sales in the first half of 2025 was 35% higher than the same period in 2024.
Ballarat’s sales levels in the June quarter are 28% higher than a year earlier and the city is showing signs of a solid revival after a couple of weak years in which prices fell. Something is happening in these key markets in Regional Victoria and part of the reason is that large numbers of Melbourne residents are leaving the big city and moving to regional areas for a different and more affordable lifestyle.
A key factor is that property prices are attractive in these places, after two years in which Victoria has not seen the big capital growth that has occurred in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. So, the timing is good to get into Victoria markets, before markets become competitive and prices start to grow.
You just need to keep in mind that taxes like stamp duty and land tax are much higher in Victoria than other parts of Australia and the State Government of Victoria keeps coming up with new ways to hit property owners and businesses with new or higher taxes.
