The Mitchell Shire is considered lucky as it seems to be relatively unaffected by major economic changes.

The banking Royal Commission or even the pandemic have hardly made an impact on sales, according to Barry Plant Mitchell Shire agent Kieran Knight.

“Even through the tough lockdowns, we were still selling quite well and our market didn’t really slow down,” he said.

“As the market is performing quite well and moving forward, I wouldn’t suggest there would be much change, so we should remain quite stable.”

The number of house sales across the Shire were at an all-time high, according to sales agents who said they were making nearly a sale per day.

During the calendar year of 2020, there were 226 houses sold in Wallan, according to data from realestate.com.au, compared to a mere 157 sold in the calendar year of 2012. There are currently 150 properties for sale across Wallan, with 29 rental homes available.

Mr Knight said first-home buyers and growing families are driving the market, with the occasional downsizers entering the mix.

“The median house price across the Mitchell Shire is quite competitive and people from Melbourne seeking that tree-change are seeing this,” he said.

The Wallan property market has seen a 3.2 per cent price rise from a median of $513,000 in December to $530,000 in March. 

Meanwhile in Broadford, the market has experienced an annual median price rise of 14.3 per cent to $484,000, as recorded in March 2021 by the  Real Estate Institute of Victoria.

A three-bedroom house at 8 Violet Lane, Broadford, drew a three-way bidding competition and sold comfortably above the seller’s expectations for $512,750.

“The two under-bidders were redirected to an off-market property listing just up the road and we sold that as well,” Mr Knight said.

“We are finding that when people are missing out on the purchase, they are extending themselves a bit further, which is helping to push the price up, and there’s some really good competition between buyers out there.”

A $620,000 sale at 10 Wattle Street, Broadford, set the new record for the estate.