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By Jessica Darnbrough
Melbourne’s property market continues to run hot despite three consecutive rate rises so far this year.
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RP Data’s director of research Tim Lawless told The Adviser that Melbourne continues to be one of the hottest housing markets in the nation, with values increasing 18.7 per cent over the year to March 2010.
“To provide some relativity, the national capital city growth rate over the same period was 12.5 per cent,” Mr Lawless said.
“The strong rate of growth hides the cyclical nature of the market. The last time Melbourne home values increased at this rate was back between July 2001 and July 2002 (excluding 2007 where the growth cycle was brought to an early end due to the GFC).
“After that strong surge in home values during the ‘property boom’ Melbourne home values went into comparative hibernation, recording just 8 per cent growth over the entirety of the three year period from 2003 to the end of 2006.”
According to Mr Lawless, the gap between Sydney home values and Melbourne home values has now narrowed from 35 per cent ten years ago to just 12 per cent currently, meaning Melbourne is now only marginally behind Sydney in terms of house prices.
