Saturday’s weather, and Mother’s Day celebrations didn’t keep people away from attending auctions over the weekend, where we saw a 70% clearance rate recorded. There were 576 auctions in Melbourne, with 401 selling and 175 being passed in, 99 of those on a vendor bid. In addition to the auctions, there were also 452 private sales recorded over the weekend. The clearance rate has not reached higher than 70% since mid-March, while the number of properties up for auction remains high.
Last week’s Reserve Bank decision to keep interest rates on hold at a record low of 2.5 per cent, could see some areas of Melbourne reaping the benefits in property values. The interest-rate sensitive areas of outer-eastern suburbs and the inner-west are experiencing higher house-price growth than some wealthier areas of the city since late 2012.
These areas, particularly the inner-west are undergoing gentrification from industrial backgrounds to bustling villages which are popular with young families, solo buyers and investors. We’ve seen housing prices in areas like Seddon and Yarraville spike sharply in the past six months, and we believe that there is still more great opportunities to be had in these areas amongst others.