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Thursday, 10 February, 2022
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Dancing in the moonlight
Diving into water safety In an attempt to curb rising drowning statistics, a local swim school is focusing on water safety this week. JUMP! Swim School, which has two locations in Pakenham, is holding Water Safety Week from 7-11 February. Chief executive Mark Collins said children have missed many vital swim lessons due to lockdowns and restrictions over the last two years. “As a result, the swim skills of many children have dropped as has their general awareness of water safety and what it means to be careful around the water,“ he said. STORY PAGE 16 Emma Quinn with daughter Mia, Ashley Vancam with son Lachlan, instructor Vanessa Short and Matilda with dad Brock Downie. 267381 Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS
Housing booms The housing market is continuing to boom in Pakenham. It is rare for properties to spend longer than a month on the market according to agents. Nelson Partners’ Matt Clark said most properties were getting offers within the first week. “A house on a few acres you might be doing 30 inspections and 10 offers on the property,“ Mr Clark said. “Anything that is lifestyle and around half a million dollars is selling extremely fast. “Residential is much the same – there are offers in the first week. It’s a matter of slowing
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the process down. Anything we have sold in the last 12-18 months has had multiple offers on it.” It was reported earlier in the month that house prices rose $236 per day in Pakenham last year. The overall median house price increased to $599 000 but Ray White’s Gavin Staindl said that it remained comparably affordable which is a major drawing point, along with lifestyle. “Pakenham is a great place to enter the market and raise a family. Everything is relatively new – under 10 years of age – and there are such great amenities and access to schools which makes for a pretty good area to live in,” he said.
Mr Staindl added that some sellers were moving to Queensland and many buyers were settling in Pakenham. Covid has encouraged people to reassess their values which has benefited Pakenham’s market. “Something that Covid has done is made people realise they can get better bang for their buck out here rather than living in an apartment in the city,“ Mr Staindl said. “Bigger house, bigger land and they can work from home and feel comfortable and still not have anywhere near as much to pay for as if they lived closer to the city.” Pakenham was also reported as the seventh most in-demand suburb in 2021, by realestate. com.au with 37, 019 highly engaged buyers
searching in the suburb last year. Given the desire for bigger blocks, those larger than 400 sqm are in demand and those priced under $700, 000 are being snaffled quickly. The market is dominated by first home buyers but Mr Clark highlighted that ageing people in more regional locations also increase the demand as they look to move closer to medical facilities. Mr Clark added that the rural feel within an urban area adds to the appeal: “In some aspects it’s still a country town in regards to its location. Country football is quite big out here, we’re quite close to the Dandenongs and only an hour from Phillip Island. Demand for access to store a caravan has also increased.”
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