Herald Sun
Alesha Capone and Nathan Mawby
Melbourne’s coastal enclaves plus Geelong and Ballarat have been tipped as the premier hot spots for investors in 2026. Alongside beachside Elsternwick, Williamstown, Dromana and Mornington, property industry experts have highlighted areas such as Lalor, Reservoir, Brunswick West and Oakleigh – where median house prices range from $750,000 to $1.325m – as the best investments for the next 12 months.
Following 2025’s modest residential price growth across much of Melbourne, agents in areas such as Williamstown and Reservoir say unprecedented demand from interstate investors has boosted home prices by tens of thousands of dollars.
Real estate analysis and research website Hotspotting’s managing director Terry Ryder said he expected investors to gravitate to Darwin, regional Tasmania, Melbourne, Ballarat and Geelong in 2026.
“Ballarat, for example, has had a couple years where prices have been flat and in some cases prices have fallen, so the value for money buying in Ball ll d h larat is particularly good at the moment,” Mr Ryder said.
According to PropTrack, Greater Melbourne’s median house price is $1.015m, regional Victoria $613,000, Geelong $836,250 and Ballarat $592,000.
Unit values, including apartments, are $626,000 in Greater Melbourne, $434,000 in the regions, $620,000 in Geelong and $407,500 in Ballarat.
Property Investment Professionals of Australia chairwoman Cate Bakos said Melbourne and much of Victoria had been in recovery for a number of months, though had shown only limited growth so far. But as other parts of the country had risen substantially, the state had the prospect of a broad lift in 2026.
“There’s been a lot of recent demand from investors for Victoria and it’s a value proposition,” Ms Bakos said. “But you do need to be picky. A lot of people are looking for a lower-priced house in some of the areas for lower socio-economic demographics, and they will have challenges.”
However, Ms Bakos said not all sub-$700,000 homes on the id “B t fringes were good investments. She advised sticking to well-located, classic apartments and villa units instead – especially those with good owners corporations and strata teams in place. Ms Bakos’ investor hot spot nominations included Elsternwick, Oakleigh, Lilydale, Lalor, Williamstown, Brunswick West, Mt Waverley, Ballarat East and Greater Geelong’s Herne Hill and Grovedale.
Advantage Property Consulting director Frank Valentic said though he expected broad growth across Melbourne, certain areas would be star performers with houses clear winners over units and apartments. His top investment picks are Elwood, Reservoir, Dromana, Mornington and Daylesford.
