Question 1

Is Colac a nice place to live?

Accepted Answer

Colac is a regional service town on the shores of Lake Colac, acting as a commercial and community hub for surrounding dairy and cropping country, with timber country and the Otway Ranges close by. The town has a compact main street of shops and cafés, tree-lined residential streets and a mix of older weatherboard and brick homes alongside newer suburban housing. Day-to-day life centres on outdoor recreation on the lake, local sporting clubs and community facilities, and there are easy road and rail links to the coast and larger regional centres.

The community of 9,243 has a median age of 44 and is weighted towards couple families, who make up 77.1% of families. Most homes are owner-occupied (68.6% combined) while about 31.3% are rented. Council-led projects have reshaped local open space with the Elliminyt Wetlands, planning is under way for the Deans Creek growth corridor, and Colac Area Health is delivering worker accommodation for health staff. If you want an established regional town with lakeside recreation, community amenities and visible local planning, Colac will have appeal; whether it suits you depends on what you value most.

Question 2

Is it expensive to live in Colac?

Accepted Answer

Buying a house at the current median price of $520,000 in Colac 3250 works out to about 9.0 times a typical local annual household income at the last Census, which is a high multiple against those incomes. Renting would also take a large share of a typical local household's weekly income at the last Census: the average house rent of $488 a week is about 44.0% of that weekly income, while the average unit rent of $370 a week is about 33.4%.

Everyone's financial situation is different, so it's important to consider your own circumstances when deciding which suburb is right for you.

Question 3

Is Colac a good place to invest?

Accepted Answer

In Colac over the past 12 months, house values rose 9.0% and house rents increased 8.4% — both solid rises that mean the house side saw growth in capital value and in the income it earns. Units tell a different story: median unit values fell 22.1%, a large decline, while unit rents climbed 15.6%, a strong increase.

Put simply, the rent a unit earns was the stronger performer this year even as unit prices dropped sharply, while houses showed more balanced gains in both price and rent. Which of those outcomes matters to you will depend on whether your priority is rental income or capital growth and on your own goals and circumstances.

This information has been prepared without taking your objectives, needs and overall financial situation into account. It is not meant to be a substitute for professional financial advice. For this reason, you should consider the appropriateness of the information and, if necessary, seek appropriate professional advice.

	Houses	Units
Median price Past 3 months	$520K	N/A
Change in value Past 12 months	9.0%	-22.1%
Sold Past 3 months	56	6
Median days on market Past 12 months	31	42
Average rent Past 12 months	$488	$370
Change in rent Past 12 months	8.4%	15.6%

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