MELBOURNE investors are helping drive Sunraysia’s booming property market – and one couple has given an insight into why they bought a home in Mildura.
Channel 9 News senior reporter Laura Turner and her partner, 9 News chief cameraman Daniel McPherson, snapped up “our second home” near Mildura Arts Centre in mid-2020.
The couple – who have two-year-old twin girls – said there were four main reasons for buying in Mildura: price, the weather, “a sense of community” and a family connection.
“We were tossing up between here and Warrnambool – and Mildura won, mainly because property is more affordable here,” Ms Turner said.
“We live in Gisborne (in the Macedon Ranges) and work in Docklands (in Melbourne) together and decided we wanted something else now we have children.
“I wanted the girls to have a connection with their dad’s upbringing in Mildura – and their grandfather’s buried here.
“And the other thing is, the weather just gets me every time. The weather’s warm here – but the people are too.”
The couple are holidaying in Mildura this week as they renovate their two-bedroom second home, a former rental property.
“The little place we have … well, it hasn’t had much love over the past 20-odd years,” Mr McPherson said.
“We’re renovating and I’ve been busting my backside over the past month or two to tidy it up with a bit of a clean and paint.
“The yard has lots of prickles (three-corner jacks), but we’ll get rid of them and get it in shape.”
The high-flying TV news couple were among a raft of Melbourne investors to buy property in Mildura last year.
Lockstar Homes owner Paul Lock said: “They represented about 20-25 per cent of our buyers (in 2020), and this is a market we didn’t have before,” he said.
For Ms Turner, life is “very busy” as she does things in twos.
She’s a mum of twins Isabel and Matilda, she has two jobs, working two days a week as a crime reporter for 9 News in Melbourne, along with hosting a radio show on 3AW, has two dogs, two cars and now two houses.
“It’s pretty full-on, but we just love coming up to Mildura, working on the house and going for walks on the Murray River,” said Ms Turner, who has worked at Channel 9 for the past 11 years.
“Most people smile on a walk by the river here and say hello and have a chat about the kids and dogs. We love it here.”
