Melbourne units selling better than houses

From the broad perspective of changes in median prices, there are few differences between the market for units or apartments and houses.

The rises and falls in median prices have generally matched each other in the past five years.

Differences are, however, apparent when comparing at auction the performance of each class of dwelling.

Units and apartments count for one in three auctions, and the clearance rate has been higher than that for houses so far this year. This repeats a trend from last year.

This year, the overall clearance rate is 57% from slightly fewer than 23,000 auctions. Last year, it was 72%.

There have been about 7,500 unit and apartment auctions, with 59%. This compares with a 56.6 per cent rate for slightly more than 15,000 house auctions.

The level of overall demand for units and apartments matches the result in the Melbourne city centre market, where there have been 472 auctions, with 59% selling.

While Docklands and Southbank are dominated by units and apartments, there have been only 75 auctions this year, with private sales the preferred sales method.

Although volumes were lower last year, the differential in the clearance rate was similar, with 72% of units selling compared with 70% of houses.