The Housing Industry Association (HIA) says Ballarat has established itself as arguably the strongest housing market in the state over the last year and a half.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics released its regional approvals data for the month of October this week.
“Ballarat continues to shine, helping to maintain activity levels across regional Victoria far more strongly than in Melbourne,” added Ms Nield.
“Approvals in Melbourne over the last 12 months were 31.2 per cent lower than their annual peak in May 2018. Activity across regional Victoria has barely fallen at all over the same period, while Ballarat is up by 20.1 per cent – recently as high as +22.4 per cent.
“Ballarat also outperforms against its own long term average, up by 18.5 per cent compared to +11.5 per cent in regional Victoria generally, while Melbourne is down by 12.5 per cent.
Geelong, Latrobe – Gippsland, and Shepparton are some other regions supporting good regional activity levels, all still remaining above their annual May 2018 levels and above their own long term averages.
“Ballarat’s affordability advantage over the state’s capital, as well as its lifestyle and proximity, has driven demand for housing in the regional centre. Population growth since 2007 has been twice as fast as the preceding decade. Dwelling prices have been advancing rapidly and approvals have followed.
“The impact of the ongoing home building activity will support the local economy in the coming months, not to mention the infrastructure and services also required to accommodate it,” concluded Ms Nield.
