By Goya Dmytryshchak
Altona, Altona Meadows, Altona North, Braybrook and Williamstown recorded their highest ever median house price last quarter despite a cooling in the real estate market.
Across metropolitan Melbourne, median house prices recorded the lowest growth in almost two years, according to the latest figures from the Real Estate Institute of Victoria.
The median sale price across metropolitan Melbourne last quarter was $817,000, with the 0.7 per growth the lowest since 2015.
REIV acting president Richard Simpson attributed the moderation to the state government abolishing stamp duty for first home buyer purchases under $600,000.
He said 44 per cent of all sales in the September quarter were under $600,000.
“In the June quarter, we saw vendors with houses around that $600,000 price point hold off selling in order to capitalise on greater competition from first home buyers,” Mr Simpson said.
“These incentives have certainly worked, with first home buyers accounting for 18.3 per cent of all new home loans in August – the highest since September, 2013.”
Despite the moderation, Braybrook’s median house price rose 9.8 per cent to $818,000. Records were also set in Altona Meadows (up 6.8 per cent to $705,000), Altona North (up 4.1 per cent to $890,000), Williamstown (up 4.1 per cent to $1.47 million) and Altona (up 2.4 per cent to $1.05million).
Mr Simpson said despite the low quarterly growth, Melbourne’s annual growth remained strong, with the median house price up 14 per cent in the year to September.
