Melbourne and Sydney’s median house prices both pushed up to new highs for the September quarter amid ongoing low interest rates and solid local economies.
House prices in Melbourne rose the most in Australia, jumping 3.1 per cent for the quarter and 9.1 per cent for the year.
Melbourne’s median house price now sits at $773,669.
The RBA looks unlikely to cut interest rates again when it meets again next week after the nations inflation figures finally showed some signs of life this week.
Domain’s chief economist Andrew Wilson told The Australian Financial Review the housing market was in different conditions around the nation.
“This is clearly a two-speed housing market, maybe three-speed,” he said.
“Melbourne and Sydney are in front and maybe it’s second gear for all the other markets except Darwin and Perth. They’re in reverse still.”
Despite fears of an apartment oversupply in Melbourne’s CBD, apartments showed 4.5 per cent growth overall for the quarter. In the CBD, Southbank and Docklands specifically, apartment prices did fall slightly.
“The growth in Melbourne apartments is in inner and middle-ring suburbs, where downsizers and empty nesters are swallowing everything that’s available,” Mr Wilson told The Australian Financial Review.
Mr Wilson said the conflicting state of Melbourne’s apartment market showed simply building more apartments wasn’t the answer to the housing affordability problem.
“The solutions aren’t just about supply,” he said.
“We’ve got plenty of apartment supply in Melbourne – but they’re all in the wrong areas, where nobody wants to live.”
