Melbourne median house prices dip

Melbourne median house prices dip below $1 million in a year of growth, creating opportunities for buyers 

Against a backdrop of solid annual growth, Melbourne’s median metropolitan house price dipped under $1 million in the quarter ended 30 September 2022, creating attractive opportunities for buyers as the market responds to shifting economic conditions and five rate rises. 

The REIV’s September Quarterly Median Report reveals that Melbourne metropolitan house prices fell 7.4 per cent during the quarter to $993,000. 

Despite this, many million-dollar suburbs continued to climb quarter-on-quarter, including Williamstown ($1,650,000) with 8.6 per cent growth, Surrey Hills ($2,166,500) with 6.2 per cent growth, Mount Waverley ($1,592,500) with 4.0 per cent growth, Keysborough ($1,010,000) with 3.1 per cent growth and Burwood ($1,400,000) with 1.0 per cent growth. 

Across regional Victoria, median prices for both houses and units demonstrated greater resilience, with houses falling 2.8 per cent to $603,000 and units falling 2.3 per cent to $422,500, this quarter.  

The top regional suburbs delivering house price growth during the quarter were Heathcote ($570,000), Morwell ($354,000) and Wodonga ($530,000). 

Annual median data reveals Victoria’s property sector has shown solid growth over the past 12-months. Regional Victorian houses and units delivered double-digit annual growth in the 12-month period, with house prices climbing 15.5 per cent. In metropolitan Melbourne, house prices rose 9.0 per cent since September 2021. 

REIV President Andrew Meehan said the September quarter had created attractive buying opportunities for Victorians, while strong longer-term market fundamentals prevail. 

“Lower median prices through the September Quarter have created new opportunities for Victorians to buy more affordably in Melbourne, particularly in the outer suburbs. 

The upward trends we continue to see in the annual data suggest there is significant long-term confidence underpinning both transaction activity and real estate prices across the state,” said Mr Meehan. 

“It is pleasing to see property transactions have not slowed materially, with a high volume of vendors listing their properties and plenty of undeterred buyers. Looking ahead, these factors, combined with the RBA’s lower-than-expected rate rise in October, are an encouraging sign of our real estate market’s long-term health.”  

	Sep-22 Quarter	Jun-22 Quarter	Quarterly Change	12 months to Sep-22	12 months to Sep-21	Annual Change
Metropolitan Melbourne
House	$993,000	$1,072,500	-7.4%	$1,090,000	$1,000,000	9.0%
Unit and Apartment	$648,500	$667,000	-2.8%	$675,000	$665,000	1.5%
Regional Victoria
House	$603,000	$620,500	-2.8%	$611,000	$529,000	15.5%
Unit and Apartment	$422,500	$432,500	-2.3%	$425,000	$380,000	11.8%
	Sep-22 Quarter	Jun-22 Quarter	Quarterly Change	12 months to Sep-22	12 months to Sep-21	Annual Change
Inner Melbourne
House	$1,677,500	$1,745,500	-3.9%	$1,769,500	$1,695,000	4.4%
Unit and Apartment	$618,500	$644,000	-4.0%	$650,000	$644,500	0.9%
Middle Melbourne
House	$1,139,000	$1,215,000	-6.3%	$1,225,000	$1,180,000	3.8%
Unit and Apartment	$728,000	$734,000	-0.8%	$750,000	$750,000	0.0%
Outer Melbourne
House	$822,500	$851,500	-3.4%	$845,000	$776,000	8.9%
Unit and Apartment	$613,000	$625,500	-2.0%	$625,000	$600,000	4.2%
	Sep-22 Quarter	Jun-22 Quarter	Quarterly Change	12 months to Sep-22	12 months to Sep-21	Annual Change
Auctions
House	$1,137,500	$1,225,500	-7.2%	$1,230,000	$1,200,000	2.5%
Unit and Apartment	$769,500	$783,500	-1.8%	$787,500	$750,000	5.0%
Private Sale
House	$893,000	$951,000	-6.1%	$949,000	$870,000	9.1%
Unit and Apartment	$593,000	$595,000	-0.3%	$600,000	$610,000	-1.6%