Greater Geelong City, VIC
The City of Greater Geelong is a local government area in Victoria’s Barwon South West district, in the state’s western region. It is largely urban in nature, with the bulk of its population concentrated in the Greater Geelong urban region.
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The port-city of Geelong is located 75km southwest of Melbourne’s CBD, has the second largest population in Victoria after Melbourne, with 268,277 people. Today, Geelong stands as an emerging health, education and advanced manufacturing hub although the region has lost some of its heavy manufacturing operations in recent years.
Population increases over the last decade were due to growth in service industries, as the manufacturing sector has declined. Redevelopment of the inner city has occurred since the 1990s, as well as gentrification of inner suburbs, and currently has a population growth rate higher than the national average. Greater Geelong has been growing steadily with 2019 seeing 2.66% growth. According to the latest Census data 103,580 people living in the City of Greater Geelong were employed, of which 57% worked full-time and 41% part-time. The unemployment rate currently sits at 6.4%.
The Greater Geelong Property Market has been growing over the past decade with a high demand for homes and property investments. Many people have flocked to this area for its easy access to Melbourne’s CBD and beachside suburbs, whilst others have been pushed out by high demand from homeowners who want more space.
The largest industry in Greater Geelong was healthcare and social assistance. However, there area more professionals in the City of Greater Geelong than any other occupation. Professionals account for 20.8 % of employment in Greater Geelong, followed by technicians and trades workers at 15.0 %, community and personal service workers at 12.9 %, clerical and administrative workers at 12.2 %, and managers at 10.7 %. In Greater Geelong, the typical weekly personal income for persons aged 15 years and older is $600.
In Greater Geelong, 85.3 % of occupied private residences are detached houses, 10.9 % are semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses, or other dwellings, 2.8 % are flats or apartments, and 0.6 % are other dwellings.
Greater Geelong’s residential property market is experiencing significant house price growth due to a buoyant market and federal and state policies. The concentration of job opportunities in the region has boosted demand for housing – especially in the area surrounding Geelong CBD where jobs are concentrated.
When it comes to buying a house, ensure you are buying a property that matches your strategy and fits within your budget. Make sure you have done enough research before making the purchase by reviewing the data on the interactive dashboard below.
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Capital Growth Heatmap
Property Market Snapshot
This page provides an overview of the LGA real estate market. The data in this snapshot illustrates typical price, median rent and gross yield metrics for this council area. You are able to drill down to suburb-level data and charts which visualise these 3 key metrics as well as other important indicators in the dashboard section that follows.
Buy
2BR
3BR
4BR
5BR
Typical Price for houses in this council area. Percent changes indicate Year on Year growth or decline in house values. Council area house prices are calculated by averaging Typical Price of all suburbs within the area. Typical Price is a more accurate metric than Median Price.
Rent
2BR
3BR
4BR
5BR
Median Weekly Rent for houses in this council area. Percent changes indicate Year on Year growth or decline in rental prices. Calculated via median value formula applied to rental prices from online listings.
Yield
2BR
3BR
4BR
5BR
Yearly Gross Yield for houses in this council area. Calculated by multiplying the Median Rent by 52 and dividing the resulting value by Typical Price. Percent changes indicate Year on Year growth or decline in Gross Yield for houses.
Buy
1BR
2BR
3BR
Typical Price for units in this council area. Percent changes indicate Year on Year growth or decline in unit values. Council area house prices are calculated by averaging Typical Price of all suburbs within the area. Typical Price is a more accurate metric than Median Price.
Rent
1BR
2BR
3BR
Median Weekly Rent for units in this council area. Percent changes indicate Year on Year growth or decline in rental prices. Calculated via median value formula applied to rental prices from online listings.
Yield
1BR
2BR
3BR
Yearly Gross Yield for units in this council area. Calculated by multiplying the Median Rent by 52 and dividing the resulting value by Typical Price. Percent changes indicate Year on Year growth or decline in Gross Yield for units.
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Property Market in Greater Geelong City, VIC
Greater Geelong City is surrounded by 4 other council areas – Moorabool, Wyndham, Golden Plains, Surf Coast.
There are approximately 233000 people living in roughly 106000 dwellings in total, with an average household size of 2.4.
The main retail centres are Westfield Geelong, Market Square Shopping Centre, Juggernort Clothing Australia, Freestyle Clothing, Belmont Village Shopping Centre, West Coast Plaza.
Such sectors as Manufacturing, Public Administration & Safety, Electricity, Gas, Water & Waste Services make up the largest part of the employment.
Among approximately 233000 people in Greater Geelong City males and females make roughly 48% and 52% respectively. The median age of people is 40 years. Children aged 0-14 years account for approximately 18% of the population, and those aged 65+ years account for 19%.
Among approximately 111000 people employed, roughly 53% work full-time, 35% work part-time, and an estimated 6% are unemployed.
Suburbs/localities in this Local Government Area: Grovedale 3216, Hamlyn Heights 3215, Herne Hill 3218, Highton 3216, Indented Head 3223, Lara 3212, Leopold 3224, Lovely Banks 3213, Manifold Heights 3218, Mannerim 3222, Marcus Hill 3222, Marshall 3216, Barwon Heads 3227, Moolap 3224, Moorabool 3213, Bell Park 3215, Bell Post Hill 3215, Newcomb 3219, Bellarine 3223, Norlane 3214, North Geelong 3215, North Shore 3214, Ocean Grove 3226, Belmont 3216, Point Lonsdale 3225, Point Wilson 3212, Portarlington 3223, Rippleside 3215, South Geelong 3220, St Albans Park 3219, St Leonards 3223, Staughton Vale 3340, Swan Bay 3225, Wallington 3222, Wandana Heights 3216, Waurn Ponds 3216, Whittington 3219, Newtown 3220, Thomson 3219, Armstrong Creek 3217, Charlemont 3217, Breakwater 3219, Ceres 3221, Clifton Springs 3222, Corio 3214, Curlewis 3222, Drumcondra 3215, Drysdale 3222, East Geelong 3219, Avalon 3212, Fyansford 3218, Geelong 3220, Geelong West 3218
In the City of Greater Geelong there were 1,984 residential buildings approved to be built in the financial year 2019-20 Feb FYTD.
Population 268,277
Rental Population 23.3%
Unemployment Rate 6.4%
Industry Healthcare, Social Assistance
Occupation Professionals
Building Approvals 1,984 (Q1 2020)
Vacancy Rate 1.32% (Q1 2020)
Compared to the national average, there is greater buyer demand for houses in Greater Geelong City compared to units. Across Greater Geelong City, the greatest demand is for three- and four-bedroom houses, with two- and three-bedroom units making up only a small portion of the demand profile in the area. Demand for Greater Geelong dwelling types – 3 and 4 bedroom houses are most in-demand. Three-bedroom homes makeup the largest demand sector of the market in Greater Geelong City.
However, there is strong growth in demand for rental units, with the rents growing at 3.76% since Q2 2019. As of Q2 2020 the rental yield for houses and units is 3.21% and 3.99% respectively.
How do Greater Geelong prices compare to neighbouring LGAs? According to HtAG property market data, the median house price in Greater Geelong City is around A$663,901 with a -107k to +243k variance compared to the neighbouring LGAs. The Surf Coast Shire has a significantly higher median house price, while Wyndham and Moorabool Shires are slightly lower than Greater Geelong City.
Surf Coast Shire: A$906,926
Moorabool Shire: A$578,217
Wyndham City: A$556,362
House prices in Greater Geelong City have started 2020 in a positive fashion, climbing by 4.8% as shown on the heat map. In comparison 2 of the remaining 3 neighbouring LGAs exhibited positive growth above 3%, with Moorabool Shire being the strongest performer in the area with 4.4%.
Moorabool Shire: 4.4%
Surf Coast Shire: 3.62%
Wyndham City: -1.58%
The unit market in Greater Geelong City is limited compared to houses with the units priced at a median value of A$403,461. Neighbouring LGA prices vary in the range of -72K to +122K with the median price for units reported as:
Surf Coast Shire: A$525,296
Wyndham City: A$410,423
Moorabool Shire: A$331,665
Unit prices in Greater Geelong City have seen strong growth in the first quarter of the year with a 7.67% increase making it the strongest performer of all the adjacent LGAs. Out of the neighbouring LGAs, Wyndham City has seen the next highest rate of growth in Q1, with median values growing by 3.99%.
Wyndham City: 3.99%
Surf Coast Shire: 3.55%
Moorabool Shire: 3.07%
HtAG property market data for Greater Geelong City shows that sales volume for houses had been steadily increasing up until Q2 2018 when it began to drop away sharply. Sales volumes have been steady since Q1 2019 with more than 470 transactions each quarter since that point. Rental volumes have been in a steady up trend since 2008 with spikes higher in 2013 and 2016.
Median house prices have been consistently gaining since 2008 reaching A$670,000 as of Q2 2020. HtAG forecasts show that this trend is expected to continue well into the second quarter of 2022 where prices will potentially rise to A$730,000.
The median value of 2, 3 and 4 bed houses has been rising steadily since 2008 and currently sit at A$500k, A$560k and A$690 respectively. While, 5 bed houses have grown steadily over that same period of time and have a far greater median price of $930k.
Median rents were flat since Q4 2018 sitting at A$410. The median rental price of 2, 3, 4 and 5 bed houses is A$320, A$380, $370 and $490 respectively. Rents on 5-bedroom houses have been decreasing since Q1 2019. HtAG forecasts that the median rental value is expected to remain flat at A$410 into Q2 2022.
Year on Year price growth for Greater Geelong house prices. The market cycle graph for Greater Geelong City shows a wide range in the median price change over the last 12 years since 2008.
Growth got as low as 1.64% in 2012, before rebounding back to the growth levels of 8.3% in 2017. The period between 2008 and 2010 was also very strong in Geelong LGA with consistent growth above 8%. Growth will continue to increase into 2021 before falling slightly in 2022. Currently house prices are at approximately 9-11 o’clock on the property clock and are in a small yet steady growth cycle.
Suburb capital growth and price heatmaps for houses in Greater Geelong. The heatmap above represents median price growth in this LGA on an annual basis. The green areas show a percentage increase ranging from 7%-13% with the highest growth in the suburb of Little River (12.37%), Rippleside (13.01%), Manifold Heights (12.95%). Curlewis Houses grew at 4.68% in Q1 2020 and have a median price of A$563,051. The red areas show the suburbs that have decreased in value by less than 2% in 2020. The suburb with the weakest growth in that range were Armstrong Creek Houses at 0.26%.
Notable Greater Geelong City Suburbs – Growth in 2020:
Rippleside – 13.01%
Manifold Heights – 12.95%
Little River – 12.37%
The scatter plot above shows all the individual sales over the past year and their concentration in the LGA. Ocean Grove, Manifold Heights and Geelong are the higher end suburbs where most of the sales in the 700K-1M range occurred. The vast majority of sales have been in and around Norlane in the price range of 300K to 400K. Sales volumes have been consistent across the entire LGA.
The median price for units in Greater Geelong City is sharply lower than the median price for houses. Units had a median price of A$410k in the second quarter of 2020. Overall the trend in median prices has been continually increasing since 2008. The trend is similar with rental prices for units where they have continued to rise to A$310 per week with only a very slight dip in 2012.
Sales volumes fell away sharply since late-2017 and have since been climbing into 2020. According to market forecasts by HtAG, the median price of units will increase headed into Q2 2022, to A$440k. While, the forecast for unit rental prices appears to be continuing to increase. By Q2 2022, it is forecast that the median rent will climb to A$330 per week, from where it is currently at A$310.
Market cycle graph for Greater Geelong City units above shows the yearly median price change starting from 2008. Prices have had multiple growth cycles with peaks in 2011 and 2014 and it appears there is another peak put in at the start of 2020. The annual price change got as high as 8.34% in 2011 and 7.67% in 2020. It appears prices are nearing the top of the current cycle and it is predicted to fall to 2.86% yearly growth in 2022 according to HtAG forecasts. This is indicated by the orange line.
According to the HtAG forecast, median prices for units in this LGA are nearing the top of the property cycle and would be approximately 12 o’clock on the property clock. Suburb capital growth & price heatmaps for units in Greater Geelong. The heatmap above represents median price growth in this LGA on an annual basis for units in Greater Geelong City in 2020. Growth in Geelong City has been 12.26% in 2020, which is indicated by the dark green. While Ocean Grove also saw growth of 8.82%.
Hernie Hill saw the weakest growth in unit prices at just 0.18%. Curlewis has no data for units on the heat map. However, we must note there has only been 1-3 sales in each of the suburbs mentioned in the unit markets.
Looking at the scatter plot, there are far fewer unit sales in this LGA compared to houses. Sales are evenly distributed around Geelong City and inner suburbs, with prices in the 200K to 300K range.
Greater Geelong City appears to be pushing towards the top of the recent property cycle, however, a number of suburbs within the LGA are set for strong growth headed into 2022. Over the next two years, HtAG forecasts Hamlyn Heights houses to grow by +11.44% by Q1 2022 which is assessed as high confidence due to the strong sales volumes (5) in Q1.
Geelong West is also predicted by HtAG to grow strongly by 10.78% by Q1 2022 and is also assessed as having high confidence based on 7 sales. Over that same period of time, Leopold (+9.78%), Newtown (+9.64%) and Belmont ( +9.30%) houses will all see strong growth which have been assessed with high confidence.
Curlewis is projected to grow by +2.25% into Q1 2020 and this is assessed as medium confidence based on 10 sales. HtAG has indicated the market is at the peak of its cycle.
In terms of areas that will likely see weak growth by Q1 2022, HtAG forecasts Point Lonsdale houses to fall in median value by -2.38% (medium confidence), while Norlane houses will also see weak growth of -0.05% over that same period with high confidence.
The suburbs that are expected to show the strongest rental yields by Q1 2022 are Norlane (4.99%), Corio (4.33%) and Armstrong Creek (4.13%). For the unit market, the suburb of Belmont is predicted to grow at +11.87% by Q1 2022, with medium confidence based on limited sales data. Yields for Belmont units are forecast to be 4.22% in Q1 2022.