Indeed, as we pointed out as recently as last week's market update, there have been so many different sets of numbers on how the market is performing that the only thing you can be fairly sure of is that any trends in the median prices of property in Melbourne depend entirely on what type of property you own, where it is located, and what price bracket it falls into.

We saw further confirmation of this perception with the release of the latest Domain House Price report this week. This report that depending on where you live and what type of property you own, the median price may have risen or fallen by as much as double figure percentages in the last quarter of 2018 alone! One assessment of this report that would have pleased local property owners came in an article by Melissa Heagney on page 17 of ‘The Age’ on Saturday January 26th. Her lead paragraph pointed out,

“Melbourne’s median house prices are revealing a tale of two cities. While prices in the elite inner suburbs are dropping by double digits, Melbourne’s outer ring is bucking the downward trend.”

As it happens, Saturday’s ‘Age’ had another reason for local home owners to smile, and it was situated on the page immediately across from Ms Heagney’s article. A report by Jim Malo pointed out that that anyone thinking about locking in the interest rates on their home loan should tread carefully, as the odds are shortening on further cuts to official interest rates by the Reserve Bank. One interesting quote in the article came from Graham Cooke who is the Insights Manager of Finder, one of the leading online home loan comparison websites. He noted, “Keep in mind that a growing number of economists in our monthly forecast predict the next RBA movement may be a rate cut.”

It’s also worth looking back a few months to a speech that the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Philip Lowe, made in November about the big picture:

“On many accounts, the Australian economy has performed very well over recent times. Over the past year it has grown by close to 3.5 per cent, inflation has been low and stable at around 2 per cent, employment has grown quite strongly, and we are getting closer to full employment. Business conditions are positive and government finances have improved and are in reasonable shape. There is a lot of investment in infrastructure taking place and the number of job vacancies is at a record high. So, overall, it is quite a positive picture.”

So if you’re doing a bit of crystal ball gazing this Australia Day weekend, and your plans include making a move in 2019, I think there’s several reasons for you to look ahead with a positive mind set. Of course, if you’d like an update on exactly how much your specific property could achieve in the current market, rather than relying on some very non-specific statistics, you can give our team at Barry Plant Gladstone Park a call on 03 9330 1088.