Ballarat Property Market Update 1st Half of 2022

In Q4 2021, Ballarat recorded a median house price of $620,000, and a median unit price of $409,000. This represents annual (Q4 2020 – Q4 2021) median price growth of 21.6% for houses and 13.6% for units. Between Q4 2020 – Q4 2021 total sales for both property types slowed, down by -7.4% (to 399 sales) for houses, by -10.2% (to 88 sales) for units. The market is now undersupplied, particularly in the house market. Current owner occupiers can benefit from real returns on capital investment, as median price growth has been fuelled by high demand and low stock levels.

Average vendor discounts between Q4 2020 and Q4 2021 have tightened for both property types, to -0.7% for houses and -0.2% for units. Market conditions in Ballarat have shifted to favour vendors, where buyers must offer close to the first list asking price. There is marginal room to negotiate, however time is limited.

In December 2021, house rental yields in Ballarat were recorded at 3.2%. In the 12 months to Q4 2021, the median house rental price increased by 5.4% to reach $390 per week, while average days to let on the market was recorded at a low 23 days. A strong increase in rental prices suggests Ballarat remains a resilient rental market.

3 bedroom houses have provided investors with +5.9% rental growth annually, with a median rent of $360 per week.

Also in December 2021, Ballarat recorded a low vacancy rate of 1.0%, slightly above that of City of Ballarat LGA (0.8%) but well below that of Melbourne Metro (3.2%). Vacancy rates in Ballarat have trended within the 1.0% mark since September 2020 and have remained well below the Real Estate Institute of Australia’s healthy benchmark of 3.0%. This confirms there is a healthy rental demand and investors can be confident of a conducive investment environment in Ballarat.