Latest property prices might surprise you
I’m sure that most people would have assumed that the impact of the coronavirus restrictions across Melbourne would have had a decidedly negative impact on property prices. Indeed, there were plenty of economic commentators who were spouting some fairly outrageous forecasts earlier this year and the lockdown first began to bite.
However, the most recent data from Corelogic has confirmed what those of us who work within the real estate market on a daily basis have been saying for quite a while…yes, property prices have declined, but nowhere near as much as most people might think.
The latest data from Corelogic looks at how the property market has been performing right up until the end of August this year, so the numbers are very current. They show that the average property price across Australia fell by just 0.4% in August. When you look at the market for the three months from June to August, the decline in property values was just 1.7%. That’s a vastly different result to what many people would have expected in such challenging times, isn’t it?
Given that our social distancing restrictions have been much tighter in Melbourne, it was no surprise to see that our market recorded a more substantial drop than the national average. But, having said that, it was very reassuring to see that Melbourne’s property prices fell by just 3.5% over the same quarter, following a 1.2% drop last month.
In amongst all this talk of slight drops in prices, there was one key statistic that I think puts all of the negativity into perspective. It turns out that despite all the challenges that 2020 has provided, Melbourne’s median property value was still 5.9% higher at the end of last month than it was at the same point in 2019. Yes, you’re reading that right, property values are up year-on year!
Data like this confirms our belief that anyone thinking of making a move this Spring should be approaching that project with confidence. The only thing that’s missing is for the Victorian Government to ease the restrictions on buyers and tenants being able to undertake safe individual property inspections…so hopefully that decision won’t be too far away.
In the meantime, if you’d like to have a chat about getting your property ‘market-ready’ in time for the launch of this year’s abbreviated Spring market, you can give the team at Barry Plant Gladstone Park a call on 9330 1088 or you can reach me directly on 0418 889 678.
Best wishes,
Nick Pugliese – Director
Barry Plant Real Estate
Gladstone Park