The average price from a houses in middle Melbourne, the suburban family home belt, have hit $1.25 million as the state records the highest annual growth in decades and its construction activity leads the nation.
Across Melbourne last year median house prices jumped 18.9 per cent while regional homes recorded the largest jump since 2001 at 27 per cent, according to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria.
The quarterly report showed the number of homes that went under the hammer surged 144 per cent in December compared to 2020, the strongest performance for sales and volume of any quarter.
Meanwhile, the outlook for Victoria continues to strengthen with the Commsec State of the States revealing Victoria was leading the way on construction work done.
Work was up 21.9 per cent above its decade average, to leap frog Tasmania while most other states were falling below the decade average.
Melbourne residential price growth
| Location | Median Price Dec 21 quarter | Quarterly Change | Annual Median Price | Annual Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inner houses | $1,778,500 | 2.3% | $1,750,000 | 12.9% |
| Inner units | $670,500 | 3.7% | $655,000 | 4.8% |
| Middle houses | $1,254,000 | -1.5% | $1,230,000 | 18.3% |
| Middle units | $768,500 | 0.7% | $765,000 | 8.5% |
| Outer houses | $854,000 | 3.6% | $815,000 | 16.4% |
| Outer units | $632,500 | 3.9% | $615,000 | 11.3% |
| Melbourne houses | $1,125,000 | 4.2% | $1,070,000 | 18.9% |
| Melbourne units | $692,000 | 2.4% | $680,000 | 7.1% |
| Regional houses | $600,500 | 3.7% | $565,000 | 27.0% |
| Regional units | $410,000 | 3.1% | $395,950 | 19.6% |
^Source: REIV December quarter report
REIV President Adam Docking said it was too early to tell what impact Omicron would have on the market but the people of Victoria were well adjusted to living and buying with Covid.
“The data reflects the enduring attraction of regional Victoria as a lifestyle choice after two years of Covid-19 restrictions,” Docking said.
“Major factors influencing the residential real estate market continue to be low interest rates, lifestyle choices as more people work from home and pent-up demand after the series of lockdowns over 2020 and 2021.”
The CBA outlook expected all regions to continue to perform well as the property markets were generally strong while the job market remained tight.
While relative population growth was Victoria’s biggest weakness, according to the report, Melbourne was expected to become the fastest-growing capital city in 2022 and overtake Sydney for size by 2030.
