Housing boom pricing low-income locals out of regional cities
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House prices and rents are escalating rapidly in regional Victorian communities with high levels of disadvantage, as investors and home buyers pounce on cheaper properties outside Melbourne, pricing some residents out of their own neighbourhoods.
Housing experts, community leaders and real estate agents say there is unprecedented demand for properties in regional locations, including the Latrobe Valley and Shepparton.
“This is a regional version of gentrification,” Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute managing director Michael Fotheringham said. “The locals all of a sudden find it’s a changing place and it’s not as affordable as it has been in a range of ways.”