WELLINGTON Shire has been highlighted as an affordable entry point for property investors, or a “cheapie”, in a top ten list curated by property investment company Hotspotting. The 10 local government areas (LGA) listed in the ‘Cheapie with Prospects’ list are across regional areas and cities in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT.

Wellington Shire was listed as having a median house price range of $377,500 to $575,000, described as offering a strong mix of affordability, rental yield and economic momentum in regional Victoria. The investment opportunity is house-led, rather than unit-led like in the cities.

“The attraction for investors is that house prices remain affordable and yields are strong, while transaction levels have been rising across the LGA,” Hotspotting founder Terry Ryder told Your Investment Property magazine.

Ferg Horan, director at Chalmer Real Estate, told the Gippsland Times said this matched what he was seeing, but that the median price reported by Hotspotting seemed “a bit low”. “There’s been a significant increase in median house prices here, so I’m not sure that (median) figure is correct. You’re not really purchasing a house for under $400k now – unless it’s an ex-commission house,” Mr Horan said.

“It’s still north of $400k. That $377k figure would almost be for units or townhouses.” “There’s been a significant uplift in interest from buyers over the past six months. They’ve identified it as an investment opportunity based on affordability. But also, the return on investment here is pretty strong.”

According to the recent PropTrack Home Price Index March 2026, the Latrobe-Gippsland area, which includes Wellington, saw a quarter-on-quarter growth of 0.80 per cent, a year-on-year growth of 5.77 per cent, with a median home price of $552,068 in March.

For about $575,000, Mr Horan said property investors could purchase a fairly standard brick veneer in a nice location. “They’re good investments – a three-bedroom, two-bathroom setup,” he said. Mr Horan said what made Wellington different from surrounding LGAs Latrobe and East Gippsland was the “government-backed industry down here”.

“Defence, the hospital, the farming and agriculture…the ExxonMobil plant at Longford.” Asked about first-home buyers or those moving to the regions, Mr Horgan said there’s been more competition in the local market. “There’s been a fair bit of investment from outside the area. That’s a challenge for local first-home buyers. But there’s a good government stimulus to help them,” he said. “If investors slow down a bit, it’ll make it easier for first-home buyers to come back.”

The other LGAs listed in ‘Cheapie with Prospects’ were Ballarat, Broken Hill, Gawler (SA), Glenorchy (Tasmania), City of Melbourne, Muswellbrook (NSW), City of Parramatta, Port Lincoln and Woden Valley (ACT). Many regional areas experienced a sudden surge in demand during Covid, but that’s no longer happening everywhere, so there’s fewer options.

These affordable entry into capital city markets can expect future demand, rental strength, and long-term growth. “In some locations, that means units in major employment and infrastructure hubs and, in others, it means houses in outer-metro growth corridors where transport upgrades, population growth and new development are reshaping the market,” Hotspotting director Tim Graham said. es-Spectator, Wednesday, 29 April, 2026 – Page 19