Melbourne Property News Monthly Wrap – July 2017

Record auctions in July. Value rises lead the country.

July’s, 5 weekends saw in excess of 3,045 auctions reported to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV). More than 2,343 sales were recorded. Approximately 702 properties were passed in with 335 of those on a vendor bid. The averaged clearance rate was 75.5%, up on July last year which was 74%.

This was the busiest July in history with the most auctions on record. Over a thousand more than July 2016 (3,502 versus 2,229, according to the REIV).

Despite measures taken by the Victorian State Government to slow investors down Real Estate Agents in July reported a very strong presence of investors still outbidding young home buyers at auctions. Critics predicted this would impact as an obvious side-effect when the State Government decided to remove the ‘Off the Plan’ Stamp Duty Concession for investors, because it only redirects investors towards established homes.

Conditions have produced a market that keeps rolling on, even through the traditionally cooler mid-winter period. In January, experts predicted a rise of 4 or 5% for the year ahead (Domain Group). But values keep escalating and rose by 5% in June/July alone. Melbourne has now exceeded Sydney’s price growth for the last 12 months, with Melbourne at 16.8% and Sydney at 13.6%.

This has produced lots of justified hand wringing by worried economists. And hand shaking by pleased vendors getting healthy capital gain.

The median house price for Melbourne increased by 3.5% over the 2017 June quarter, going up by 3.5%, reaching a new top at $865,712.

Outer fringe suburbs performed very well at the end of July, with first home buyers taking advantage of the new stamp duty savings opportunity. Clearance rates were high in the South East (87%) and West (85.7%) but lower in the inner city (69.6%) and inner-east (63.9%) where higher vendor expectations clip bidders wings.

Craig Knudsen
Principal Advisor
Vendor Marketing

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