Local sales fast off mark, with a surprise leader

With a desireable bayside location, it's now wonder new residents are flocking to St Leonards.

New REIV data shows regional Victoria’s property market is becoming more competitive, with homes outside metro Melbourne selling in a median of 42 days in March – the fastest in nine years.

The number of days taken for a private sale is a key market indicator, with declines indicating increased buyer demand and interest in an area or town.

Heightened buyer interest across Victoria is reflected in greater Geelong, where most locations recorded significant improvements.

The Bellarine Peninsula town of St Leonards headlined this demand with a drop from 106 days to 36, representing a reduction of 70 days, or almost two-thirds.

Other big movers, where the median days on market fell by more than half in the last year, were Whittington (20 days, down from 56 in March 2017) and Leopold (24 days, down from 50).

Meanwhile, the tightest market in the region is Waurn Ponds, where the median time for private sales is just 15 days, down from 30 days a year ago.

The good news for sellers in Bell Park, Clifton Springs, Norlane, Corio, Belmont, Herne Hill and Hamlyn Heights is that median sale times in all these locations have been reduced to less than a month.

Bell Post Hill, Highton and Newton, where a year ago private sales campaigns had median sale durations of less than a month, have again been reduced, suggesting further tightening in the market.

For more information on median days on market, visit reiv.com.au/market-insights.