Motivated buyers keen to live on the coast are snapping up properties in Peterborough and Port Campbell.
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Harris and Wood agent Danny Harris said people were fast learning they could buy a property in one of the coastal towns for half or a third of the price of one in areas such as Apollo Bay or Torquay.
On Sunday, the auction of a modern home in Calloway Court, Peterborough, was keenly contested by two bidders, who submitted 21 bids between them.
Bidding opened at $550,000 but the property was passed in when the price hit $681,000.
However, it sold not long after.
"It sold after to one of those bidders for an undisclosed higher price," he said.
Mr Harris said the six-bedroom home was snapped up by a local buyer but there was plenty of interest in the seaside town from out-of-town buyers.
"Stock levels are very low," he said.
Mr Harris said there were three homes listed for sale in Peterborough.
He said there were usually about a dozen on offer.
"It's a seller's market, there's no doubt about it," he said.
"More and more people are seeing Peterborough and Port Campbell as a more viable option to busier centres on the Great Ocean Road."
In January Real Estate Institute of Victoria chief executive officer Gil King told The Standard the regional Victorian market became more appealing during the past year amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"At the onset of COVID-19 in Australia, some analysts spelled disaster for the Victorian property market," he said.
"Notably, the regional Victorian market became even more appealing as people, particularly millennials, put remote working into better practice and better understood the advantages of non-major metropolitan living.
"Value for money always plays a role in property decisions and there's no doubt this has been a driving factor in young people buying up in regional Victoria.
"The promise of a property that presents good value for money, access to bigger blocks, a relaxed coastal or regional lifestyle and the opportunity to finally achieve the 'great Australian dream' has seen many young Melburnians leave the city behind in 2020.
"It's a trend that's not expected to slow down any time soon."
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