Hi ,
The team at Elite Buyer Agents are back for 2025 and excited about what this year will bring in the Melbourne and Geelong Property Markets. Auctions have started and already bringing higher clearance rates than last year. Auction numbers are still low but will increase weekly and a ‘Super Saturday’ is predicted for the 22nd of February.
Domain Melbourne Auction Clearance rate as at Saturday evening was at 68% on 466 auctions. 315 sold at auction, 108 passed in and 43 were withdrawn. The clearance rate for the same week last year was 64%.
What a difference 12 months can make in property! 2024 was a tough year in Melbourne for real estate. There was a lot of negative press about the Melbourne Property Market, confidence was low, investors were selling fast pushing stock levels higher and buyers were very cautious. Fast forward 12 months, investors are circling, stock levels are low, and it looks like we have hit the peak of the interest rate rises with strong predictions of a rate cut next week. Not only has Melbourne come alive over the holidays, but there is now a lot of positivity about the Melbourne Property Market for 2025. A property in Toorak just recently sold for approx. $150m which now holds the record for the country as Australia’s most expensive home.
Melbourne historically has been Australia’s strongest performing property markets until recent years where it has lagged behind. This is due to the extended lockdowns during the pandemic, increased land taxes, new legislation around rental properties, rising interest rates and a sluggish economy.
Population growth will continue to be a main driver in buyer demand, and the State Government have recently predicted that Melbourne’s population will rise to 8.5 million people by 2051, a huge increase from its current 5.3 million people making it the fastest growing city in Australia.
So what does this mean for property prices in the short and long term? Over the long term, we will still have supply issues if the population increases at the levels the State Government is predicting, which should keep property prices rising. However for 2025, I still believe it will be a slow and steady pace for the first half of this year. Buyer confidence has already increased and we saw evidence of lots of buyers at open for inspections on Saturday. Whilst I feel buyers will still see some good opportunities in the short term, these opportunities will become fewer and far between over time. I believe the Melbourne Property Market has already entered the recovery phase and both KPMG and CoreLogic are predicting solid property price growth this year which all the signs are there that this could happen.
Have a great week!
Kim Easterbrook – Managing Director
