MILDURA is still recording high rental increases, as other Victorian areas begin or continue a decline.
Data released by property data and analytics company CoreLogic revealed north-west Victoria had the highest increase in rental prices last month.
Out of Victoria’s eight regional localities – Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Hume, Gippsland, north-west, Shepparton and the south-west – only half had an increase in rents in September.
Rents in the north-west were up 2 per cent, significantly higher than Ballarat’s 0.2 per cent, Hume’s 0.3 per cent and Shepparton’s 0.5 per cent.
One Agency director and sales agent Mark Thornton said he believed it was strong local demand keeping Mildura’s rental prices on the increase.
“I think that housing is still an issue in Sunraysia and when there is more demand, naturally prices go up,” he said.
“There is still a lot of demand in the rental side of things.”
Rents in the north-west rose 8.4 per cent in the 12 months to September, but the area still had the lowest median weekly rental value in Victoria at $354.
The next closest was Ballarat at $405.
Mr Thornton said Mildura’s rents could begin to catch up to the rest of the state if the current growth patterns continued.
“It is hard to predict what will happen,” he said.
“There is no short term sign that that is going to slow down for residential – rental or sales – there is still strong demand in all facets of real estate here in Sunraysia.”
Mr Thornton said Mildura was still a highly attractive place to purchase a property, whether as an investment or somewhere to live, as many were drawn to the area’s affordability.
CoreLogic’s data showed the north-west had the lowest median house value in the state at $337,398. The closest value to this was Shepparton’s $455,011.
The region also had the highest rental yield, making it attractive to investors wanting to maximise their return or homeowners wanting more for their money.
“It is still really affordable here in Sunraysia to rent and buy,” Mr Thornton said.
“With the cost of living going up people are trying to reduce their costs where they can.”
