Melbourne Property News Monthly Wrap – January 2021

January brings some big surprises

In January’s second half the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) recorded more than 307 auctions. 184 properties were sold at auction, with 51 passed in. 44 properites sold before auction. The clearance rate averaged 82%.

New trends in the market sharpened across January. Against all predictions, cheap finance and high savings have reinforced housing values during the pandemic, with most cities showing strong growth.

All capital cities recorded a general rise in home values over January, ranging from a 2.3% surge in Darwin to a relatively slower 0.4% rise in Melbourne and Sydney. Melbourne values are up 2.1% over last 3 months. But still down 2.1% over the full 12 month pandemic period.

Rush to the regions

Melbourne’s lockdown plus new work-from-home protocols have fast tracked tree-changers’ plans. Buyers are flocking to Melbourne’s coastal towns, fringe areas and other attractive regions to live. As a result Victorian regional housing values are rising at more than twice the pace of the city. It’s creating Hobart style problems – where the long time locals are struggling to rent or buy in their own towns now.

Blue-chip suburbs take a hit

Domain’s latest ‘House Price Report’ for year 2020 shows some premium zones close to the city are losing gloss. Armadale house values fell by 10% and Albert Park by 9.4%. But lesser priced South Melbourne and Port Melbourne increased in value. With the city shut down and struggling to restart, East Melbourne’s ‘walk to work’ advantage became a walk to nowhere – sending house values there (according to realestate.com.au) down by more than 20%. This trend will eventually turn around. But it may take a while.

The outlook for central Melbourne’s unit market stays grim. International students and hospitality workers have evaporated, with record low levels of investor interest and people’s changing lifestyle preferences adding to the problem. A garden, however big or small, is becoming more significant than ever before. And so important to be perfectly presented when selling!

Craig Knudsen
Principal Advisor
Vendor Marketing

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