Sea Change in Belmont, Geelong

What are some of the options for First Home Buyers with a circa-$500,000 budget when they ideally want a character house, a nice sized backyard and proximity to cafes, train and shops?

Geelong…. just 75km from Melbourne, 55 minutes’ drive on the freeway and an easy train ride into Southern Cross Station.

Our most recent assignment gave it’s fair share of excitement, disappointment and energy. Three auction attempts and a handful of building inspections were what it took before our lovely couple secured a sixties weatherboard gem on over 600sqm in beautiful Belmont.

Surrounded by amenity, a short walk to the Barwon River and boasting two train stations (Marshall and South Geelong) just a short drive away, this property stole hearts of more than just our buyer’s.

The strategy itself was the exciting part.

Arriving at the decision to move from an inner-city apartment to our State’s second largest city was based on a few factors, affordability being one. Our duo knew that the criteria they’d developed for their home search would preclude them from the inner-ring and middle-ring suburbs in Melbourne and they’d either be well over an hour’s drive from the city and living in an estate with limited public transport amenity, or they’d have to start compromising on their criteria.

Exploring Geelong proved to be a great idea, and shortly after meeting them we had devised a strategy which focused on some of the inner western suburbs of this vibrant city, all matching their desire for a cafe culture lifestyle, easy amenity and accessibility into Melbourne’s CBD on a VLine train.

Our picks included Highton, Belmont, Herne Hill and Geelong West.

Unfortunately for us, many other First Home Buyers had a similar plan. Whether they be local buyers or Melbourne-based tree-changers, upon July 1 we felt the brunt of the First Home Buyer force. We missed auctions which not only exceeded our budget but flew up to $600,000 on multiple occasions. 

It was indeed a hard force to reckon with.

Each inspection, each auction… our clients spotted familiar faces and the same sets of parents again, time after time. Even at yesterday’s exciting auction in Belmont we faced under-bidders from previous houses we’d bid at.

Geelong’s dramatic growth story is based on a combination of factors. What is obvious though is the superb lifestyle and surprisingly convenient commute that this city offers buyers. Considering that some of our outer-Melbourne new estates are challenged by similar (or longer) commute times and lack the same established community feel Geelong offers, it’s little surprise that this city on the bay has demonstrated such growth of late.

Wishing our lovely buyers a wonderful lifestyle with lots of weekend visitors!

Photos sourced from REA and Victorian Tourism Awards