Tougher competition is in store for buyers in the property hot spots of Cranbourne and surrounding suburbs.

Both homes and housing blocks in these areas are flying off the shelves, often within days of listing, according to Barry Plant Cranbourne agent Brad Spencer.

The outer south-east suburbs in the Casey council region have long been magnets for buyers, especially first-home buyers, because of affordable prices, a steady supply of house and land packages, and the opening of new housing estates.

“The market here moves quickly and the days on market can be as low as 10-12 days, if that long,” Mr Spencer said.

“Homes here have a high turnover as there are many younger owners and families who are constantly upgrading to larger houses.”

Houses can attract upwards of 10 buyers at each inspection, with most having pre-approval to finance their purchase, Mr Spencer said.

“Although recent lockdowns have impacted inspection numbers, the quality of buyers is very strong and four out of five people at inspections are keen to buy.”

Sale numbers have fallen in recent years with just 279 house sales in 2020, compared with 418 in 2016 and 417 in 2017, according to realestate.com.au data.

Although the supply of property is now steady with more expected to come on the market in spring, the demand exceeds the number of homes agents can list, Mr Spencer said.

There were only 38 houses for sale in Cranbourne South and 96 in Cranbourne on August 5 on realestate.com.au

“We still cannot get enough and even after homes have gone under offer, there are buyers calling to enquire about similar homes,” he added.

Most properties are selling at the top or above the price guide, and some sellers have achieved six-figure sums over their original purchase price within a couple of years.

The agency recently sold a vacant block of 507sq m at 24 Sparrow Street, Cranbourne, for $470,000.

The vendor paid $336,000 for the block 18 months earlier and netted a gain of $134,000. It was on the market for a week.

“Housing blocks of 350-450sq m are popular and owners can gain up to $100,000 in a short period,” Mr Spencer said.

Most buyers are from out of the area, with just 20 per cent made up of local families and downsizers from larger blocks and acreages.

The turnover is most pronounced for younger properties of less than five years, with a large proportion of sellers moving to upsize, for career changes or relocating interstate.

“For some reason, many are heading to Queensland for the lifestyle and others are moving due to changes in jobs or family circumstances,” Mr Spencer said.