Melbourne was the buyer’s hotspot for the latter half of 2016, according to analysis from one national property firm.
While its median price was the second highest in the country at $725,000, the Melbourne market was attractive to buyers due to how the city had planned for the future,
Tony Brasier, chairman and managing director of real estate giant PRDnationwide, told
Australian Broker.
One reason for how well Melbourne was doing with buyers was that an estimated $17.6 billion worth of projects were due to commence in the second half of 2016, Brasier said. Thirty per cent of these were aimed at improving and adding to infrastructure.
“The north and north western suburbs in particular are benefitting strongly from this influx of funding, new facilities and economic stimulus, as their annual property growth continues to climb.”
These areas are long time hot spots with an increase in development priming them as an affordable alternative to inner city Melbourne living, he said.
“The western suburbs are also likely to get a push especially with new major projects being planned for greater Melbourne areas such as Werribee and the ‘East Werribee Employment Precinct’ which has an estimated construction value of $48 billion and which promises 58,000 jobs over a wide range of sectors.”
Development was removing the undesirable stigma from these areas and turning them into family friendly locales connecting outer Melbourne to its surrounds.
“This affordable option is incredibly important as Melbourne is one of Australia’s leading employment hubs and ranks highly in job creation as well as having strong interstate and international migration.”
This analysis stems from PRDnationwide’s recently released report
Australia Property Hotspots: 2nd Half 2016 which looks at the best spots for buyers within the country’s primary capital city markets.
Related stories:
NSW driving surge in new investment lending
Property expert warns of apartment undersupply
Rising rates could squash national housing boom
