Melbourne's Brunswick, South Yarra bust, Prahran, Richmond show momentum: Secret Agent
Melbourne buyers agent Secret Agent has noted the local market is slowly starting come alive, although in which direction is not as yet clear due to early sample data.
According to the latest Secret Agent report, market conditions in Prahran, Richmond and South Melbourne were on the up late 2015 and so far in 2016 with Brunswick, Brunswick East, Middle Park, North Melbourne and South Yarra markets going bust.
Secret Agent said these suburbs had been performing strongly throughout the middle of 2015 and were due for a quieter period.
"The townhouse market has also noticed a softening across the board, while houses performed best at 3% over the rolling quarter. Houses have been the standout performer over the past few years as their inbuilt scarcity of land and building help this market grow," Secret Agent said.
"Apartments have continued to fall in value with Docklands, East Melbourne, Hawthorn, Melbourne CBD, North Melbourne and Southbank losing value. What may have softened the blow is the decreasing stock of apartments on the market. With stock inventory likely to grow again we should expect further downward pressure on apartment pricing in the early parts of this year.
"The rental market continues to stratify with strong demand and price growth for stand alone homes near places of work and rich in lifestyle options. New apartments are finding it harder to establish tenancies with the continued supply of new dwellings. The falling rent among these apartments gives prospective tenants plenty of choice and this is a concern for recent investors."
The report warned of property valuations which help determine financing for purchasers, with Secret Agent noting a a pull back in some values that valuers are placing on real estate after auction sales which might ripple into the market over the coming few months as caution continues to creep in, stalling growth.
Quarterly Scorecard
OCT, NOV, DEC 2015 & JAN 2016
