Geelong is attracting more interest from interstate property investors keen to unlock future growth. Picture: Brad Fleet
The global supply chain chaos causing a spike in fuel prices and renewed calls to work from home could see a new boost in demand for Geelong housing.
Geelong’s property market exploded during the Covid pandemic, when thousands chose to leave locked down Melbourne to enjoy a coastal lifestyle and amenities in Geelong and the Surf Coast.
But a big correction saw a significant drop in home prices in the wake of the pandemic, that’s since brought the region into focus for first-home buyers and interstate investors.
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Convergence Buyers Agents director Sky Hammer said the global uncertainty over whether a fuel supply crisis intensifies could feed demand for more people to move to the region.
“If anything, what we’re going to see is a push to more remote work, and people working from home, and that just adds to the demand for Geelong,” Mr Hammer said.
“Like we saw in Covid when people could travel into Melbourne a couple of days a week, if they’ve got to work in the office, and enjoy that coastal lifestyle in a city with some really good infrastructure, a slightly over-performing football team, and just a really good, family-friendly location.”
The four-bedroom house at 3 Strathmore Court, St Albans Park, is listed for sale with price hopes from $750,000 to $820,000.
Mr Hammer said increasing competition for the sub-$850,000 market across Melbourne could see more hopeful buyers turn to Geelong.
“It makes a lot of sense. You don’t have to go as far as Ballarat or Bendigo to get affordable housing. You can get into Geelong, kind of the lower end of the market, up to that kind of $1m mark.”
Mr Hammer said investors see the potential for capital growth in the region, where the value is attractive, while first-time buyers were attracted to the region’s affordability.
“Geelong hasn’t had a really good run over the past four or five years, so they’re seeing value, and they’re seeing the start of a growth cycle.
The three-bedroom house at 1 Venus Court, Newcomb, is listed for sale with price hopes from $600,000 to $650,000.
“It’s very data driven and from a data perspective, Geelong is essentially lighting up like a Christmas tree. People aren’t buying here to make a quick dollar, they’re here for next three, five or 10 years.”
A new report reveals the buyers agency’s top Geelong suburbs for property investment in 2026.
The report found that a compression in supply levels means stock on the market sits below the long-term average in many family-oriented pockets, limiting buyer choice.
High owner-occupier levels, creating longer hold periods, have reduced volatility in the market.
The three-bedroom house at 8 Everglade St, Leopold, is listed for sale with price hopes from $750,000 to $795,000.
But the research also revealed premium and lifestyle suburbs had been steadier, while constrained supply in more affordable suburbs was driving new momentum.
Mr Hammer said buyers also needed to be mindful of pockets within suburbs, such as a high concentration of rental properties in areas such as Corio and Whittington, and neighbourhoods with or without views in suburbs such as Bell Post Hill.
Geelong’s top suburbs for investing
| Suburb | Median house price | 10-year annual growth rate | Weekly rent |
| St Albans Park | $667,500 | 8.06% | $480 |
| Corio | $540,000 | 7.53% | $430 |
| Grovedale | $700,000 | 4.79% | $530 |
| Herne Hill | $755,000 | 4.33% | $515 |
| Newcomb | $605,750 | 5.95% | $478 |
| Whittington | $580,000 | 6.95% | $470 |
| Belmont | $708,000 | 4.93% | $515 |
| North Geelong | $645,000 | 4.45% | $470 |
| Leopold | $690,200 | 4.89% | $520 |
| Hamlyn Heights | $737,000 | 5.16% | $520 |
| Source: Convergence Buyers Agents, Suburbs Finder | |||
Maxwell Collins Geelong agent Nick Lord said the impact of the Middle East crisis was a moment in time for people who were looking to buy property, whether for five years or 20 years.
“I think astute investors are still buying property. If anything, it’s a good time for them to perhaps have perceived less competition in the market for those who are waiting to enter it when the global sort of uncertainty changes,” he said
He said competition was fierce in the sub-$850,000 price bracket.
The three-bedroom house at 7 Perth St, Belmont, is listed for sale with price hopes from $690,000 to $750,000.
“That sub-$850,000 market, especially in time on the market, we’re finding can be as short as a week to achieve a really healthy price.”
Mr Lord said a rising cycle for home prices in Melbourne can provide impetus for buyers to look to Geelong.
“When the Melbourne market increases in their median house prices, it increases the gap and affordability in Geelong and really incentivises Melburnians to move down here, which then again, lifts our prices. And then they sort of slow down a little bit, given that our Geelong prices mightn’t be as affordable as they expect.”
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