THE rural lifestyle property market has slowed in line with Melbourne's leafy suburbs.

Rural lifestyle property specialist, Bruce Falk, said negativity surrounding the metropolitan property market was having a trickle-down effect on rural lifestyle properties.

"The regions are normally three months behind the leafy suburbs of Toorak and Hawthorn," Mr Falk said.

"That said, the auction results in Melbourne a fortnight ago were the best they have been in a long time, so we'll see what happens in the next week or so."

An increase in interest rates was not to blame for a slow start to 2012 in property sales, he added.

Analysis of lifestyle properties advertised in The Weekly Times show lifestyle property sales are proving the most fickle with results over the weekend mixed.

While one 16ha property, Aeolus at Tooborac, returned $970,000 (about $100,000 more than expected) a mansion on 4ha at Gordon (Glinn Maduinn) was passed in at $1.11 million (but sold immediately after) after a year-long marketing campaign that first sought $1.8 million.

Both vendors were pleased with the result.

But Mr Falk said that although properties were on average spending more days on the market before selling, this did not necessarily translate to lower prices.

Newmarket agent, Bill Sargood, said the Euroa market, typically dominated by Melbourne money, had started the year slowly.

"It's just starting to pick up, but it's been tough," Mr Sargood said.