Young buyers moving to outer Melbourne suburbs: REIV

Stephen TaylorDecember 7, 2020

Craigieburn is the most popular suburb for young buyers in metropolitan Melbourne, followed by Pakenham, Point Cook, Berwick and Tarneit, says the REIV.  

This is because these suburbs are more affordable than those closer to the CBD. Young buyers have not had the time to build up their savings, which reduces their levels of equity, making them more price sensitive, the research found.  

Median house prices in these outer suburbs range from $315,000 to $460,000, typically translating to average mortgage repayments of around $2000 to $3000 per month.  

Regionally, the most popular towns are Traralgon, Mildura, Shepparton, Warrnambool and Grovedale. Median house prices here range from $222,000 to $364,800. This equates to average mortgage repayments of around $1300 to $2300 per month.  

The REIV says the average age of mortgage holders in Victoria is 32, according to the 2011 Census. It estimates that around 19% of individual mortgage holders are aged under 30.

While the REIV analysis confirms the long term trend for young buyers to move to the outer growth suburbs, it says it is ‘’reasonable to expect that, as housing density increases in the inner city, there will also be an increasing number of young buyers there.

‘’However, at this point in time, the overall volumes are low compared to the outer suburbs.’’

This concentration of younger buyers in growing new suburbs has obvious impacts on the provision of services by governments as their children require child care, schools and recreational facilities.

The REIV research found the majority of mortgage holders, 53%, are aged 35-54 with the highest concentration between 40 and 44.

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