MURTOA is Victoria's cheapest place to buy a house, according to a new report from financial services firm CoreLogic.
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The Best of the Best 2021 report complied median house prices from towns and suburbs across the country - with the Wimmera region taking out the top six spots for lowest house prices in the state.
Murtoa recorded a median house price of $156,642 according to the report, with a total of 22 properties sold in the town in the past 12 months.
Ouyen, Warracknabeal, Edenhope, Nhill and Dimboola followed closely, with the median house prices in each town not exceeding $190,000.
Harcourts Horsham director Mark Clyne said the results did not surprise him, due to the towns' distance from Melbourne.
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"Anything in close proximity to Melbourne is always the dearest and as you move out it tends to get a little bit cheaper in price. That has always been the case," he said.
Mr Clyne said due to their low price point, interest from tree-change Melbournians had increased since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
"In the past two years, there has certainly been activity. The activity has been across the board, but certainly in the regional areas because of their lower price point." he said.
"With the ability to work from home, people can buy a house in regional areas and still be a lot better off than being in the city or around the city. It is more about lifestyle.
"So many people have made the move out to regional areas, some love it, and for others, it is not quite what they expected."
He said people moving out of towns such as Murtoa or Warracknabeal often cited a lack of public transport or access to medical facilities as a key reason behind their decisions.
"What we do find is that a lot of people moving in from Melbourne to these regional areas is that they don't need finance. They have sold in Melbourne and are ready to go," he said.
"Country people are friendly and welcoming, so there are no issues there, it is just that people comment that, for some of these smaller towns, it is a bit more remote than they first thought.
"But then some people love it."
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Horsham real estate agent Wes Davidson said he had also seen an increased interest in Horsham's housing market - with prices taking a sharp rise in the past two years.
"I call it the ring effect. You drop a stone in the middle of the pond (Melbourne) and you get co-centric rings that progressively go out further and further and get weaker and weaker," he said.
"That is the same with house prices. When house prices take a massive jump as they have, then investors start looking elsewhere.
"The average commission home now is making in excess of $200,000, whereas a few years ago they were making a bit of $100,000 that is a dramatic jump in two to three years of market."
He encouraged anyone looking to snap-up a cheap home in the Wimmera's outlying towns to consider whether the lifestyle would suit them.
"Like anything, do your research. Make sure you get sound financial advice before you make any decisions to buy. You should take into consideration if you are buying, how much you are prepared to borrow," he said.
"Err on the side of caution, and as with anything in real estate, plan for the long-term. Do not look for two or three years, you should be looking for five or ten years because that is historically where things level out. "
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