Melbourne’s median house price tops $700,000

MELBOURNE’S median house price has broken the $700,000 mark for the first time after three months of rapid growth.

10 new suburbs hit the million-dollar median mark for the first time, including Ashwood. Brendan Lim is selling the new townhouse he built in Ashwood hoping to cash in. Picture: David Caird.

MELBOURNE’S median house price has broken the $700,000 mark for the first time after three months of rapid growth.

The city’s property market has smashed the latest milestone after notching a record number of auction sales this year, while homes are selling at a record pace.

Real Estate Institute of Victoria figures show the median house price hit $706,000 at the end of June, led by growth in the inner ring of suburbs where the median now exceeds $1.2 million.

Auction numbers have fallen as the winter chill sets in, but about 740 homes are still up for grabs this weekend and 800 are expected next week.

REIV chief executive Enzo Raimondo said the year’s hot auction market, with more than 13,000 sales in six months, was helping drive prices higher.

Low interest rates and high migration levels were also fuelling demand.

Separate figures from CoreLogic RP Data show the private sale market is gathering steam, with homes selling after an average of 32 days on the market.

It is the quickest rate on record and shows sellers have the upper hand, according to CoreLogic RP Data senior research analyst Cameron Kusher.

Mr Raimondo said that prices were likely to continue rising for the next three months, but might slow from the June quarter’s 5.2 per cent growth rate.

Buyer agent Frank Valentic explained that some individual properties were selling for bubble prices, but across Melbourne the fundamentals were sound for prolonged growth.

The number of homes selling for between $500,000 and $1 million above the reserve price was a warning sign that some buyers could get caught out when the hot streak cooled and they found they had paid too much, Mr Valentic said.

Buyers could see some relief in spring, when traditionally more properties came on to the market and auction numbers climbed.

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