BrickX buy first regional property at Soldiers Hill, Ballarat

BrickX buy first regional property at Soldiers Hill, Ballarat
Joel RobinsonDecember 7, 2020

Fractional property investment platform BrickX have bought their first regional property in Central Victoria.

They've spent $401,000 on a two bedroom home in Soldiers Hill, a small suburb of Ballarat.

BrickX suggest regional Victoria has been popular with first home buyers, families and investors who have been priced out of the Melbourne market in the last 12 months.

"Ballarat is particularly attractive due to its quieter lifestyle, picturesque town centre and proximity to Melbourne," BrickX advised. 

The last two bedroom home to sell on the street fetched $295,000, while another two bedroom home on the street sold for $275,000 late last year.

BrickX buy first regional property at Soldiers Hill, Ballarat

There's been over eight percent annual historic region growth over the last two decades.

The 418 sqm block of land sold for $200,000 in 2010 before the home was built.

BrickX are offering Bricks at $33 per Brick, their cheapest offering across their 16 properties.

The buyers agent Cate Bakos recently suggested recent capital growth run over the last four years had adversely impacted the median rental yield figures.

"The rising rents have not kept up with the rising house prices; and this is not unusual," adding state-based stamp duty concessions for first home buyers had played a part in the growth trajectory of Victoria's more affordable regional centers.

She noted Soldiers Hill was the favoured suburb for most Melburnian investors "who aspire to a Fitzroy styled suburb with turn of the century buildings, brick terraces and wide, tree-lined streets and the beautiful city center within short walking distance."

Soldiers Hill has enjoyed a reported 8.2% average annual capital growth of late and the popularity of postcode 3350 continues to attract newcomers to the area.

The underlying growth prospects for Ballarat as a city relates to job growth, increased employer options, new government contracts and easier commutes to Melbourne, Bakos suggests.

Rail upgrades that have enabled faster train travel, increased services and the continued introduction of government de-centralised services have enabled Ballarat to become a stand-out option for first home buyers, upgraders, downsizers and local buyers.

It's the second Brickx purchase this year after the innovative platform spent $639,000 on a one bedroom apartment in Darlinghurst.

BrickX went on a buying spree last year, securing six properties.

They started with a $1.3 million Surry Hills townhouse, before buying an $885,000 Potts Point one bedder and $1.11 million two bedroom apartment in Manly.

They then bought their second Melbourne property, a $1.19 million, three bedroom house in Brunswick.

A $1.83 million Balmain East home followed, before Brickx ventured in to Adelaide for the first time, securing a two bedroom St Peters home for $825,100.

When entering the Adelaide market, CEO Anthony Millet said he wanted to offer investors diversity and an alternative to the Sydney and Melbourne property markets. 

 

 

Joel Robinson

Joel Robinson is a property journalist based in Sydney. Joel has been writing about the residential real estate market for the last five years, specializing in market trends and the economics and finance behind buying and selling real estate.

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