Bendigo best-performing Victorian housing market in past year: Residex
The popular tourism town of Bendigo, known for its rich gold mining history, has been the top-performing Victorian housing market over the past year, according to the latest Residex regional market index.
House values in the central northern town are up by 4.25% for the year ending August 2012, bettering the previous 12-month increase of 2.85%.
The median house price in Bendigo is $264,000.
Residex reports there was a 9.49% jump in sales activity, with 2,941 properties sold during 12-month period.
The average house rent price in Bendigo was up by 1.8% for the year, to $280, equating to a median yield of around 5.5%.
Bendigo outperformed other strong regional towns, including Shepparton (3.18% increase in house values), Mildura (up 2.92%) and Wodonga (up 2.93%).
Those regional towns were the only positive localites, with towns going back in value including Ballarat (-1.97%), Geelong and surrounding area (-3.8%), Castlemaine (-2.6%) and with Mornington and surrounding area at -4.06%.
Bendigo is situated approximately 150 kilometres north-west of Melbourne and is the fourth most populous city in Victoria, with an estimated urban population of 90,000.
According to the ANZ, Bendigo has outperformed other regional and metropolitan cities in Victoria, including La Trobe Valley, Warrnambool and even Melbourne in terms of capital growth.
As of the year ending March 2012, Bendigo had a capital growth of 7%, compared with 5% in the La Trobe Valley and 4% in Warrnambool. Melbourne's capital growth fell 6%.
According to realestateview.com there are 171 properties for sale and 94 properties for rent in Bendigo.
Recent property sales in Bendigo include this three-bedroom modern home (pictured below) through the Select Property Group for $295,000. Located in the heart of Bendigo, it offers magnificent views of the Sacred Heart Cathedral.
A little higher than the median price, this recently restored four-bedroom house (pictured below) sold $367,500 through Kangaroo Flat Realty. Formerly a church (since 1891) it is approximately 325 square metres and has been revived for modern living and was sold in January this year.
