The most in demand Geelong suburb is south of the river - realestate.com.au (2024)

Jack Beaton, pictured with his dog Penny, is selling 15 Nagle Drive, Belmont. Picture: Alison Wynd

HOMEBUYERS out of luck in Geelong’s uber-popular inner west suburbs are finding life better south of the river.

New data shows prospective homebuyers were most interested in a clutch of suburbs beside the Barwon River in the city’s west and south.

But the realestate.com.au figures show Belmont was the standout suburb, with homebuyers clicking on individual properties almost 7000 times on average in 2018.

Geelong West and the city rounded out the top three, with more than 6000 hits per property each.

Suburbs close to Pakington St, including Newtown, Herne Hill and Hamlyn Heights, were high on the list, while Newcomb provided the affordable smoky in the city’s east.

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Barry Plant, Highton agent Kieron Hunter. Picture: Stephen Harman

Barry Plant, Highton agent Kieron Hunter said Geelong West had always been popular, but it was out of reach for some buyers, who instead searched the next ring of suburbs.

“It’s got the period homes, it’s close to the city — it’s the Brunswick of Geelong, it’s a cool place,” he said.

“Belmont is the next step. If you’re getting priced out people start looking for value in other areas,” he said.

“Belmont was a spill over from the other side of the river,” Mr Hunter said

“We started to see people who had missed out or were priced out of period homes, weatherboards, in Geelong West and even in Herne Hill or places that have a similar proximity to the CBD.”

11 Cambridge St, Belmont sold for $917,000.

Mr Hunter said the style of homes particularly off Mt Pleasant Rd and Roslyn Rd was important to buyers.

“There were still weatherboard period homes and they were on reasonable sized blocks,” he said.

“When you drive down certain streets in Belmont it can be pretty similar to Manifold Heights in a lot of ways.

“Like if you start going down Amundsen St, or Scott St or Shackleton St it can be comparable to Manifold Heights where you’ve got those weatherboards mixed in with those 1950s to 60s period brick homes as well.

16 Wimmera Ave, Manifold Heights sold for $815,000.

Mr Hunter said buyers saw a tipping point in value, where period homes with asking prices around $1 million in Geelong West could be replicated, renovated around $800,000 in Belmont.

Demand for property in Belmont is evident with a recent listing attracting a lot of interest before it is scheduled to go to auction on February 23.

Jack Beaton is selling 15 Nagle Drive, Belmont. Picture: Alison Wynd

A family house at 15 Nagle Drive has attracted a lot of buyers due to its size and location.

Vendor Jack Beaton said he bought the house about 15 months ago and had done a few minor changes including ripping up the carpet and polishing the floorboards as well as giving the house a coat of paint.

15 Nagle Drive, Belmont

15 Nagle Drive, Belmont

The four-bedroom house has two living areas, a central kitchen and garage/workshop.

Hodges, Geelong West agent Sean O’Brien is selling the property with price hopes of $575,000-$625,000.

Buxton, Newtown agent Tom Butters said Pakington St was Geelong’s main property drawcard for buyers, but said schools were also a high priority.

72 Aberdeen St, Geelong West sold for $865,000.

“They’re close to things and they’re beautiful suburbs”.

“A lot of people focus on schooling zones and they have sections where they will look and where they won’t look,” he said.

“If they’re families they know where they want to send their kids to school.

“Even Manifold Heights and Herne Hill still have great schooling options close by and that’s been the reason for their popularity.”

Source: realestate.com.au, CoreLogic