Monthly Property News 2nd Edition 2023

“Year on year, the median house price is $100,000 less”

Hi Guys, It’s Dean O’Brien from OBrien Real Estate with the second edition of the property news for 2023, where real estate information is on the house. 

This time last year, the median value for a house in Melbourne for the first time ever hit $1 million according to Corelogic’s home index, and today, if you’re looking to buy a house rather than a unit, you can expect the median value of that house to be $100,000 less than this time last year. If we look at Sydney, the median value for houses and units has now dropped to be under $1 million, that’s quite a change. However, the declines we have been experiencing over the last 12 months are definitely easing.

January has not been a quiet month. With overseas student numbers surging, we are experiencing huge rental demands, particularly from Chinese students, which is due to authorities no longer recognising online studies as part of an academic degree or diploma. We expect the coming months to continue to be very strong, and some of this rental demand to transfer into buying. The ASX 200 was also strong in January it had its best January since 1994, increasing 6.2% for the month, which is a stark contrast to January last year, when it had its worst start to the year in 14 years.

No doubt, people will be closely listening to the Reserve Bank’s announcement next Tuesday, but it’s the comments from the Reserve Bank governor that will be even more important because the market has already factored in the rate rise this February, so it is the future indications from the Reserve Bank governor that people should be listening to.

Melbourne Metro declines in the Home Value Index (insert graph) over January fell 1.1%, and on a 12-month rolling average, Melbourne prices are now 9.3% down for all dwelling types. Regional Victoria has also had a decline similar to last month, easing 0.7%. Regional Victoria is now 3.5% down over the last 12 months; however, let’s not forget that Regional prices in the previous rolling 12-month period grew an impressive 23.9%.

Looking at the rental market, (insert graph) rents in Metro Melbourne for units are in strong demand; people are now wanting to be close to universities and transport links again, and in the Inner Melbourne market, we have experienced a 30% increase in rents over the last 12 months, and there are no signs of that slowing. Gross yields of units for investors are increasing strongly, as you would expect, with units now at 4.3% in Metro Melbourne and 4.5% in Regional Victoria, whereas this time last year we were sitting at 3.5% as a gross yield for Metro Melbourne.

That’s all for this month, I’m Dean O’Brien, and remember that the information provided is of a general nature. You should always seek independent legal, financial, taxation, or other advice in relation to your unique circumstances.

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