Melbourne’s median house price up five per cent in past 12 months

Date: 20 Oct 18

Despite sluggish auction clearance rates and rumblings of a depressed property market, the Real Estate Institute of Victoria’s latest data reveals that Melbourne’s median house price remains stable.
 
REIV President Robyn Waters said there was a 13.6 per cent increase in the value of homes sold on the private market and an 0.6 per cent increase in the value of those sold under the hammer over the past 12 months.
 
“We’ve all heard the ‘doom and gloom’ commentary about a downturn in Melbourne’s property market but the median house price has actually increased five per cent in the past 12 months,” Ms Waters said.
 
“The property boom of 2017 could not be sustained and a levelling or correction of the market is a good thing in the context of housing affordability already being a pressing issue in Melbourne.
 
“Over the past 12 months, Regional Victoria has outperformed Melbourne with a 9.1 per cent increase in the median house price. In Outer Melbourne, the median house price rose 7.1 per cent and the unit median rose 9.8 per cent.”
 
The REIV’s September quarterly data report revealed that the median house price in Melbourne remained unchanged at $834,000 and the unit median increased 0.2 per cent (2.6 per cent over the 12 months) to $640,000.
 
In the July-September quarter, the median house price in Regional Victoria declined 0.6 per cent to $416,500 while the unit price dropped 4.1 per cent to $292,500. The reduction in regional medians follows a 4.0 per cent increase in the median house price and 3.7 per cent increase in the unit median in the March-June quarter.
 
“Most of the standout suburbs in the 1 July to 30 September quarter are located in the middle and outer ring: Mount Eliza, Essendon, Keysborough, Coburg, Greenvale and Narre Warren South. Only two Inner Melbourne suburbs featured in the top 20 growth list which fits with what we are seeing in the market more broadly,” Ms Waters said.
 
“Properties are being tightly held in Inner Melbourne as vendors wait out this period while the market in Outer Melbourne and Regional Victoria are stronger as buyers are inclined to snap up more affordable options.
 
“There is no doubt that the banks’ tighter lending conditions are contributing to this trend as are incentives for first homebuyers which encourage the purchase of affordable properties, more likely to be found in Outer Melbourne or Regional Victoria.”
 
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