Tina Bull at her Monbulk house, which she’s keen to list as soon as restrictions ease so she can move to Queensland. Picture: Jake Nowakowski
Tens of thousands of Melburnians are set to flee to regional Victoria or interstate as a consequence of the city’s extended COVID-19 lockdown.
An exodus of as many as 30,000 people over the next two years has been forecast by leading real estate researcher Simon Pressley, of Propertyology.
He said this would mark one of the biggest ever swings in internal migration in an Australian city — and contribute to the double-digit price falls he was forecasting for Melbourne homes.
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“A hard lockdown of more than 100 days will (cause) the biggest shock to Melbourne’s economy most of its residents have ever seen,” Mr Pressley said.
“Whether they relocate to a Victorian regional location, such as Bendigo, Wodonga, the Great Ocean Road region, or … completely leave the state, thousands of Melburnians will take action to regain their freedom.
“People are also starting to understand (COVID-19) is going to be with us for years, and where there’s greater density, there’s greater risk We know there are people who’ve already left Melbourne.”
A Melbourne-based family paid more than $9.5m for his mansion in Seaforth, in Sydney’s northern beaches.
He said prior to Melbourne’s last property boom, a soft economy resulted in the city’s population losing 20,000 to internal migration over five years to June 2012. Perth’s economic downturn lost it 21,000 people to other parts of the nation over four years to June 2019.
Melburnians are already making moves, with a family from the city splashing more than $9.5m on a luxury home for themselves in Sydney’s northern beaches this month, without having set foot in it. Another spent $3.95m on a Gold Coast penthouse in August.
Monbulk resident Tina Bull is planning her escape to Queensland’s Sunshine Coast to seek out “warm weather, family and friends — and not lockdown”.
“I’m over it,” she said. “There are other (reasons to move north) that have been sitting there, this tipped me over the edge.”
Melbourne buyers also secured this luxurious double-storey penthouse on the Gold Coast.
Ms Bull has engaged Ray White Ringwood agent Cameron Bailey to list her “dream home” of seven years as soon as restrictions on real estate ease, with an expected $700,000-$770,000 price guide.
She said she had “been renovating the whole time” she had lived at the five-bedroom house on substantial 1413sq m block at 65 Moores Road, including adding a deck for entertaining out back.
Mr Bailey said while Ms Bull was exiting the “postcard town”, he expected the second lockdown would prompt buyers from Melbourne’s denser inner areas to flood to the Dandenong Ranges.
“People have been cooped up. They want to be in larger homes, to chase the Great Aussie Dream,” he said.
“Employees are also realising they can work from home efficiently, (so) why do they have to be so close to the office?”
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