The start of spring brought the expected flurry of activity to Melbourne’s property market, after what has been a huge three months in real estate.
We witnessed an abundance of sales despite lockdowns and a ban on physical home inspections.
The latest Real Estate Institute of Victoria figures show metro Melbourne’s median house sale price hit $1.072m in the September quarter, which is a quarterly jump of 6 per cent. Units rose by 0.4 per cent, to $680,500.
Suburbs in Melbourne’s eastern corridor saw huge growth, with Camberwell – one of Melbourne’s most expensive suburbs – jumping in value by 12.1 per cent to $2.876m.
Wantirna South also cracked Melbourne’s top 10 suburbs for growth, increasing in value by 10.6 per cent to $1.305m.
Croydon North and Knoxfield joined the million-dollar median house price club for the first time, while Balwyn’s median price of $2.865m and Hawthorn’s $2.595m put them in the city’s top 10 most expensive suburbs.
Overall, data from CoreLogic revealed property prices rose 3.3 per cent in Melbourne across the July-September quarter, with sequential increases of 1.3, 1.2 and 0.8 per cent.
The market is strong across the country, as Australia experiences the highest rate of annual appreciation since July 1989. National home values are up 18.4 per cent in the year to August.
Buyers are also snapping up properties in Melbourne quicker than they were a year ago, with the average home taking 35 days to, compared to 38 in 2020.
Noel Jones achieved impressive results this quarter, including the recent sale of a four-bedroom Chirnside Park house for $1.22 million. This smashed the suburb’s median price for four-bedroom homes by $400,000.
We also sold a four-bedroom home in Croydon Hills for $1.34 million, trumping the suburb’s median price of $1.1 million for similar sized homes.
Noel Jones is looking forward to achieving more excellent results for our vendors and new home owners as we look to 2022 and the easing of restrictions
We’re already seeing an uptake in new properties coming on the market as of September and this trend is reflected statewide. Figures from SQM Research show a 10 per cent jump in new listings over September, adding 12,000 homes to the market.
The Reserve Bank has opted to hold our record low interest rates again, and we’ll watch the market closely as major banks introduce lending.
The interest rate buffer on mortgage serviceability tests is being increased from November 1, meaning households must be capable of making mortgage repayments if home loan interest rates rise 3 percentage points above their current rate, rather than the previous 2.5 percentage points.
For most borrowers, this change is estimated to cut their maximum loan amount by around 5 per cent.
We’ll also monitor the impact of the Victorian Government’s new Homebuyer Fund. The scheme will see the government pay and own up to a quarter of the purchase price of Melbourne properties valued at less than $950,000 for aspiring homeowners who meet certain income thresholds.
On a community note, Noel Jones had a wonderful reminder of just how generous Melburnians are, with an overwhelming number of donations received for our two-week food drive.
All donated food went directly to our main charity partner The Big Umbrella to make up meal boxes for people in need. You can find out more about The Big Umbrella’s invaluable work at thebigumbrella.org.
Contact Noel Jones for guidance on your property journey.
