The Age
February 1, 2010
MELBOURNE house prices rose by 18.5 per cent in 2009, well above the national growth figure of 12.1 per cent.
Melbourne had the strongest housing market in the country for the second consecutive quarter, with houses pushing past the $500,000 barrier for the first time.
While prices have continued to increase across the board, for both houses and units, it has been price movements in the most expensive 50 per cent of suburbs that have driven the strong growth overall.
Median prices for houses in that top half increased by nearly 23 per cent during 2009, outstripping the growth of 17 per cent in the more affordable suburbs.
Looking at the various regions of Melbourne, the inner urban, inner south and inner east regions all showed annual price rises exceeding 15 per cent for houses and exceeding 20 per cent for units.
The property market in Melbourne has been one of the most resilient in the country during the global financial crisis and the consequent economic recovery.
Of the 10 Australian Property Monitors regions in the Melbourne statistical district, only three showed a fall in the median house price between December 2007 and December 2008, and only one region, the north-east has, the median house price in December 2009 still below levels of two years ago.
APM expects to see some moderation of price growth in 2010, particularly in the first few quarters as interest rate rises and the removal of first-home-buyer stimulus start to take effect, and affordability starts to rear its head again.
