Our July report is always dedicated to a look back on the performance of the Surfcoast property market for the previous financial year. The 2015/16 financial year saw a very active coastal market buoyed by low interest rates and continued positive sentiment from the metropolitan property markets.

So let’s look at the performance of each of the towns during this period. As a reference these sales are house sales, that is a free standing dwelling on its own title. We do not include land sales or units and apartments although freestanding dwellings with common driveways are included. The median house price is calculated as the “middle” sale when all the sales are ranked from highest to lowest.

Torquay again continues to have significant turnover with 301 house sales for the year. The median house price has been calculated at $642,000, up considerably from $585,000 in 2014/15. There were 32 sales above $1m which was more than double from the 15 the previous year. The top sale was $2,100,000 which was the only sale over $2m. To provide context there are currently 7824 rateable properties in Torquay.

Jan Juc recorded 82 house sales (up from 57 in 2014/15) with the median house price coming in at $603,000, which was actually a slight drop from $620,000 in the previous financial year. Given the number of samples this can be seen as a steady result. The top sale was an incredible $3,925,000, which to our knowledge was the top sale for the Surfcoast for the financial year. There were 8 sales between $1m-$2m, just one sale between $2m-$3m and only one above $3m. There are 1993 rateable properties in Jan Juc

Anglesea saw similar turn over to the previous year with 107 sales recorded, down slightly from the 111 recorded in 2014/15. The median house price was $672,500, which like Torquay, was significantly up from $588,000 the year before. The top sale for the year was $2,920,000. There were 16 sales between $1m-$2m (up from 12 the year before) and 3 above $2m. Again, for context, there are 3245 rateable properties in Anglesea.

Aireys Inlet recorded 44 house sales for the 2015/16 financial year which was 10 more than in the 2014/15 financial year. The median house price saw a very significant jump to $732,500 up from $623,500 the previous year. The top sale was $3,000,000 which was the first $3m sale ever recorded for a residential property in Aireys Inlet. There were 4 sales recorded above $1m. Aireys Inlet has 1192 rateable properties.

Due to the low numbers of sales we have always grouped Fairhaven, Moggs Creek and Eastern View together. There are only 852 rateable properties in this area. There were 25 sales for the financial year, which was slightly up from 22 the year before. The median house price came in at a staggering $1,000,000, up dramatically from $782,000. The median price figure in this area has historically moved around significantly due to the low sample numbers; however, it does show that the area has had a positive year. The top sale for the year was $3,005,000. There were 10 sales between $1m-$2m, 2 between $2m-$3m and just one above $3m.

Lorne had a very good year generally and was particularly active in the upper end price ranges. The total number of house sales was 51, which was up from the previous year of 43. There is also a lot of unit activity in Lorne each year due to the prevalence of that type of property in the town. The median house price was $900,000 which was a significant increase from $795,000 the year before. The top sale for the year was $3,450,000. There were 15 sales between $1m-$2m, 2 sales between $2m-$3m and 3 above $3m. There are 2375 rateable properties in Lorne.

Apollo Bay recorded 76 house sales for the 2015/16 financial year which was 5 more than in the 2014/15 financial year. The median house price increased slightly to $481,000 up from $475,000 the previous year. The top sale was $1,650,000 which was the first ever sale over $1.5m recorded for a house on a residential lot in Apollo Bay. There were also 4 other sales recorded above $1m. Apart from Great Ocean Properties, no other Apollo Bay or District Estate Agency was involved with any of the 7-figure sales within a 15km radius of Apollo Bay.

We don’t tend to talk about our own achievements in our reports so we do not dilute the quality of information that we provide to our clients. Although we sell across all price points, we are very proud of that fact that Great Ocean Properties achieved the highest sale prices in Aireys Inlet ($3,000,000), Fairhaven/Moggs Creek/Eastern View ($3,005,000), Anglesea ($2,920,000) and Jan Juc ($3,925,000) and second highest in Lorne ($3,300,000) for the 2015/16 financial year. Overall a very positive year.

The general number of properties for sale remain at historically low levels which has facilitated many of the positive results we have reported. Baby Boomers continue to make themselves present in the market place as they design their retirement or semi retirement lifestyle plans. This is particularly prevalent in Lorne, Aireys Inlet and Anglesea. Torquay and Jan Juc continue to grow their owner/occupier demographic who is seeking access to Geelong and Melbourne for work purposes. The infrastructure of these towns continues to be a strong drawcard for permanent living. Price differentiation between the Melbourne metropolitan market and the coastal market continue to benefit the latter and it is difficult to see this changing, especially given the downsizing Baby Boomers being so active in the market place at present.