Geelong’s Growth Story

Properties consistently selling 15-20% over reserve, heated auctions, high clearance rates…. and a bit of buyer heartache. This isn’t what some would have assumed about Geelong if they’d been profiled when sentiment was down after the Ford Plant closure, but things are looking up for the City by the Bay… the Land of the Cats… this satellite city within an hour’s drive from Melbourne.

Driving into Geelong West yesterday gave quieter impression than I’m usually accustomed to on a sunny Saturday morning in cafe-lined Pakington Street. Timing it on a September Saturday after a late night of local celebrations after the Cats beat the Swans in a nail biting football final was fortuitous for finding a cafe table easily. Half of Geelong seemed to be taking it easy, but not for long.

Excited to be assisting not one but three clients in this vibrant city, I had a combination of property briefs to cover off in my busy trip. 

First stop was for an SMSF investor who’s target suburbs were just Newtown and Geelong West; or as the locals call it – “West”. This gloriously renovated four bedroom Californian Bungalow set the scene for what West proudly offers these days. From pretty scented candles to impeccably mowed lawn, not a single thing had been overlooked for this glorious restoration.

It was quite perfect as far as a property goes.

Attracting many inspections and threatening to break a few hearts, this beauty goes to auction next weekend. It coincides with what could be either a day of celebration or commiseration for Cats supporters after a Friday night final against Adelaide, but for fellow real estate agents, it’s a Super Saturday with a large number of auctions scheduled before our Grand Final public holiday long weekend the following week.

My second stop was at a cute cafe in Highton; 63 Degrees to meet up with our buyers for an exciting auction in nearby Belmont. Nothing could have prepared us for the auction result though. The coffee van outside the property churned out coffee after coffee and a large array of folks gathered around in their winter woolen hats, puffy jackets and jeans…. typical auction attire during the cooler months. I could spot buyer nerves at every turn. I was in a sea of hungry first home buyers and Dads were everywhere. 

Every Advocate’s dread is a Dad beside his daughter.

I didn’t start the bidding. In fact I didn’t even get to bid. What we’d formulated earlier as a sensible stretch budget was some 12% under the resultant price. Two confident first home buyers went head to head until one landed on the magic figure of $600,000 (an imposed limit for those who are eligible for a full stamp duty waiver) and it was a determined elderly couple who slammed a final $10,000 bid despite having toyed with $1K and $2K increments throughout. Had they recognised a simple $500 bid could have secured the property they possibly could have saved themselves $9,500, but what’s another ten thousand dollars once you are more than 20% over reserve anyway?

We chose the property because it was superbly kept, oozed mid century appeal and was a short walk to local cafes. 

It appears many others also recognised this.

Our post-sale debrief was difficult, as they often are. Accepting that Belmont, Highton, Herne Hill and Manifold Heights are all now experiencing a surge of first home buyer interest was deflating, but focusing on Geelong’s delayed spring season after the football concludes was my best suggestion to give them some optimism.

An excited text during my post-auction downtime from our new investor clients added some more adventure to my day. They’d inspected one we shortlisted earlier for them in Herne Hill and scored it highly. I had a half hour window to track down the agent and sort out a contract for the property. Unsurprisingly we had competition and he shared that the property was to be sold by 6pm. Armed with a folder containing our blank contract and our competing buyer’s offer, I had no doubt that he was going to finalise the sale five hours later.

Offering a glorious sunlit living area, opportunity to improve with floorboard sanding, repainting and an update to kitchen and bathroom, a superb north facing yard and parkland opposite, we had hoped our clients would feel as we did about this old gem.

Coordinating a contract review on a Saturday and getting back to our office in Yarraville became quite urgent. We chatted on the phone as I drove back down the well traveled Princes Freeway and by the time I printed contract pages, our review was finalised and our price was agreed. The Best and Highest method can be challenging for some buyers, but as it turned out, our offer was accepted at 6pm and we raised a glass to our excited investors after what could only be described as a massive day.

Some Saturdays are so action-packed that feel like they flash by … yesterday was one of those days.

GO CATS!!