Melbourne Property News Monthly Wrap – September 2017

Spring is here and home values are blooming.

September’s 5 weekends (minus the exciting AFL Grand Final weekend when auction numbers were negligible) produced in excess of 3,417 auctions reported to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV). More than 2173 sales were recorded. Approximately 917 properties were passed in with 428 of those on a vendor bid. The clearance rate averaged 74%, down on September last year which was 79%.

Melbourne (houses and apartments combined) continues to lead the mainland in value growth for the fourth quarter in a row with a 2% gain over the last (September) Quarter. With a 1% gain in September alone. This makes for 12 month price growth of 12.1%. Hobart is the surprise leader though notching up annual growth of 14.3%.

Great times to be a homeowner! But how is this translating to the average homeowner’s economy? There are significant gains on paper. Melbourne’s median dwelling price is sitting at $703,816 (Corelogic). Loosely based on this median, the capital gain over the last 12 months was around $1637 a week, or $233 every day.

Realistically, this compounding wealth is consolidating in the principal residence – the family home. Unless you choose to sell and take the gains in hand.

However, Economists are telling us that economic confidence is increasing for many city based Australians and its showing up in a trend to invest in equities again. This investment category had been shunned by many small time investors in the wake of the slowdown in the Australian Mining sector and the volatility of the stock market over the last 15 years. But with their bricks and mortar capital gains backing them, many Australians are now having another look.

Some newspapers have tried to tell us there have been a flood of cashed-up property investors at auctions, or otherwise entering the home market. But in reality having a second dwelling (or more) as an investment is not that common, with just 7.9% of Australians owning more than one property.

Craig Knudsen
Principal Advisor
Vendor Marketing

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