Ocean Grove’s population has increased by more than 5000 during the past decade according to Census figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The town’s population in August 2021 was 17,714, an increase from 12,555 in 2011 and 14,165 in 2016.
The population has almost doubled in the last 20 years – in 2001 it was 9992.
The figures released show that there are far fewer unoccupied dwellings in Ocean Grove and Barwon Heads compared to five years ago.
Around one in five dwellings in Ocean Grove remain unoccupied for most of the year.
In 2016, 27.9 percent of dwellings were unoccupied and in 2021 the figure fell to 21 percent .
It was even more evident in Barwon Heads.
The 2016 Census showed that 34.7 percent of dwellings in the town remained unoccupied for the majority of the year.
By 2021, that figure fell to 25.6 percent . Barwon Heads’ population has increased from 4332 10 years ago to 5459 in 2021.
Hodges Real Estate Ocean Grove director Jason Burmistrow said the decrease in the amount of unoccupied dwellings in both towns could be attributed to the pandemic and a population shift to the coast.
“A lot of homes that have sold over the last couple of years during COVID times have been people’s holiday homes,” he said.
“They have sold out or moved into it with workplace flexibility.
“Over the last two years there hasn’t been a large portion of holiday home buyers in the market. Most of the homes are getting sold to people who want to occupy.
“A lot of people saw it as an opportunity to cash out a holiday home and make some good money.
“A lot of people had holiday homes and they might have been coming here for years and all of a sudden they have a bit of workplace flexibility and they have relocated into those holiday homes as well.
“The buyers that we’ve had over the last two years have sold their home in Melbourne or other regional parts and they’re cashed up and relocated here permanently.”
The migration to the Bellarine has also meant bad news for renters.
Mr Burmistrow said the current rental and sales markets had softened recently.
“When you’re looking over the last year or two there’s been a huge demand for rental properties and we’ve found a lot of those homes did get snapped by people relocating,” he said.
“At the same time a lot of investors who had holiday homes saw the opportunity to cash in as well.
“Unfortunately for the local residents renting, we saw a lot of supply either get sold or owners moving into their own investment properties.”
Mr Burmistrow said he had noticed the population increase personally.
“As a local resident I’ve noticed the population swell,” he said.
“During the off season you notice the car parks and the supermarkets, the amount of people out and about, there’s certainly a lot more people living in Ocean Grove than what there was 18 months ago,” he said.
Mr Burmistrow said the housing market had well and truly reached its peak and is now on the way down.
“It’s a funny old market at the moment, it’s gone really quiet,” he said.
“We’re having inspections now where no one is turning up and we haven’t had that for years.
“I think it’s just buyer confidence at the moment. You have factors like interest rates, inflation, the media are really pushing hard about sales prices dropping, so there’s probably a little bit of fear in the market and a bit of uncertainty.
“People are saying they are just going to take a step back and see what happens.”
Meanwhile, Ocean Grove’s population is continuing to age according to the Census figures.
The median age is currently at 43 compared to 41 in 2016.
The state and national average is 38.
Barwon Heads is even ‘older’ with the median age of 47 compared to 44 in 2016 and 41 in 2011.
