Latest news with #JacobCaine
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Melbourne clearance rate soars: What it really means
Winter's no match for Melbourne buyers, who braved the chill and sent auction clearance rates soaring to a fiery 74 per cent. PropTrack recorded 503 reported results this week, with 371 homes sold under the hammer, a clear sign that momentum is returning to Melbourne's property market despite a seasonal dip in listings. 'Be realistic': Melb buyers warned Top results included 5 Alpha St, Balwyn North, which fetched $3.361m, along with strong outcomes at 38 Washington Ave, Malvern East, 91 Fortuna Ave, Balwyn North, 19 Owen St, Mitcham, and 25 Finsbury Way, Camberwell. REIV interim president Jacob Caine said the result showed early signs of renewed energy translating into real outcomes. 'We've been saying within the sector for a little while now that there are early signs of renewed momentum — and this clearance rate is tangible proof that it's beginning to take hold,' Mr Caine said. 'There's definitely a shift in energy. That 74 per cent result speaks to a level of confidence we haven't seen in some time. 'Enthusiasm is picking up, and I think the market is beginning to move from whispers of recovery to the first signs of it playing out in real time.' He said buyer demand had held steady even as listing volumes dipped. 'Listing volumes have pulled back — as expected in the colder months — but buyer demand has remained fairly consistent. When you've got fewer homes available and buyers still in the mix, naturally, clearance rates start to rise.' Ray White auctioneer Jeremy Tyrell said the result was consistent with what he saw across the weekend. 'There's been no winter slumber for the Victorian real estate market,' Mr Tyrell said. 'The clearance rate jumped up to 82.1 per cent, amid strong competition from buyers with 3.1 active bidders on average across all auctions.' 'With the potential for further interest rate cuts, the market is extremely well placed for a strong second half to 2025.'
News.com.au
06-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Melbourne: median house price rise a disadvantage for some
A four-figure rebound in Melbourne's median house price could be a mixed bag for buyers as competition increases at auctions and some properties become less affordable. PropTrack is expecting 460 Victorian homes to go under the hammer this week ahead of the King's birthday public holiday. A PropTrack report this week showed that Melbourne's typical house value increased by almost $8000 to reach $902,000 at the end of May. Former Carlton star Fraser Brown seals nine-figure deal The increase was the city's fifth straight month of growth and the single largest monthly rise since 2021 as other indicators revealed improving conditions. Real Estate Institute of Victoria interim chief executive Jacob Caine said agents were seeing heightened buyer activity, increased bidding at auctions and more purchasers putting in pre-auction offers for homes. 'I haven't heard a huge amount coming out of the marketplace that prices are jetting up, but generally speaking those other factors are really good signs that would also indicate that the prices are creeping up,' Mr Caine said. 'I think it's absolutely fair to anticipate that as Melbourne house prices continue to creep back up to historic highs, that buyers will experience disappointment and frustration as properties that might have been achievable at the beginning of the year become less affordable and perhaps out of reach.' PropTrack senior economist Angus Moore said it was important note that Melbourne's boosted median value would not necessarily translate to higher asking prices for all homes on the market. 'Obviously, rising home prices can make homes less affordable for first time buyers, though the fact that interest rates are falling is going to help improve affordability,' Mr Moore said. 'But the fact that we are seeing a reasonable volume of homes available for sale going to auction does give buyers a bit more choice.' Ray White, which represents 25 per cent of Melbourne's auction market, reporded a $833,000 median price result from the 145 auctions that it held across the city last week, which represented a 4 per cent rise when compared to 12 months prior. According to PropTrack, Victoria achieved a 67 per cent auction clearance rate last week from 1537 auction results.
News.com.au
31-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
How Melbourne's surprise biggest auction week could change market
Melbourne's auction market is on the cusp of generational change as the city prepares for one of its busiest starts to winter on record. Yesterday Victoria tackled the bulk of its busiest week under the hammer since spring last year, with a whopping 1477 homes slated to test the market. PropTrack figures show an initial clearance rate at 70.3 per cent from 1038 result was recorded, with a Toorak home at 34 Balmerino Ave setting the pace with a $6.11m sale that topped the market. Economist Anne Flaherty said as the third similarly strong result in as many weeks, it was a positive sign that lower interest rates and growing investor activity would keep sellers celebrating as winter kicked off. Next week a Kings Birthday public holiday on Monday has cut expected auctions to just 500. But the following week is forecast to host more than 1000, a buoyant number historically reserved for spring. Real Estate Institute of Victoria president Jacob Caine said while this weekend had been boosted by being exactly four weeks after the federal election, which had delayed many sellers from listing homes for sale, continued high numbers and clearance rates suggested the city's auction market was changing — and winter might not be the no go zone it once had been. 'We might need to adjust our expectations around when we will see peaks and troughs of auctions throughout the year,' Mr Caine said. While he said he believed buyers might still have a 'moment of opportunity' a market that was quickly swinging in sellers' favour was expected to have numbers boosted by both interest rate cuts that were driving sellers to believe there would be more buyers with deep pockets. 'Real estate agents have been having conversations with a lot of owners planning to capitalise on the interest rate cut on the assumption that it will translate into more buyers with more buying power,' Mr Caine said. 'I think there is still a slight advantage for buyers … there's still a moment of opportunity, especially for first-home buyers, before things swing back to the sellers-market trend we have had for most of the past 15 years.' Yesterday's top results included a four-bedroom house at 34 Balmerino Ave, Toorak, at $6.11m, followed by 42 Bruce St, Toorak, which sold for $6.1m. 15 Latham St, Ivanhoe, address snared a $5.32m result to round out the top three results. But not all of the top end listings were so successful. A Kew address that was slated for auction at 1.30pm had $10.5m-$11.5m hopes leading up to it going under the hammer. The 1-3 Sackville St home is now listed for private sale with a $12m asking price.
News.com.au
20-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Victorian budget panned as a ‘kick in the guts' to first-home buyers and a ‘chokehold' on property sector
The Victorian budget has been lashed as a 'kick in the guts' to first-home buyers after it slammed the door on a key housing program despite forecasts of a property price surge. Real Estate Institute of Victoria president Jacob Caine criticised the lack of support for first-home buyers in a budget that openly acknowledged home prices are expected to rise, even as it signalled the end of the once popular Victorian Homebuyer Fund. 'If you are a first-home buyer or on the cusp, it must feel like a kick in the guts,' Mr Caine said. 'It appears that the government is simultaneously relying on the extension of the stamp duty discount for new builds and the incentives and support program that the feds have promised, to shirk their responsibility for supporting first-home buyers into their first home. 'The forecast of increased Victorian property prices aligns with most economist and industry pundits, and that says that the opportunity to buy a first home is going to become even more difficult than it already is. 'The government needs to do more to support young Victorians into their first home.' In last year's budget the Victorian Homebuyer Fund shared-equity scheme was slated to exit the state's selection of support programs for affordability-challenged home buyers as of June 30, 2025. Yesterday's budget had no mention of the scheme, which is believed to have helped close to 15,000 Victorians with even a 5 per cent deposit to buy a home with the government paying for up to 25 per cent of its cost in return for a commensurate stake in the property. With no further funding, the state's struggling homebuyers will be directed towards a similar federal scheme dubbed Help To Buy — however that program's start date is still listed as late 2025. The Albanese government announced extensions to its property price caps, now $950,000 in metropolitan areas and $650,000 in regional areas, and the income eligibilities for it in the lead up to this year's federal election. But the number of places has not shifted from 40,000 over four years. At 10,000 per annum, Victorians would have to claim about 4000 of the national total, or 40 per cent, in order to get the same number of recipients as the state scheme. The REIV had called for the state government to follow the federal government's lead by boosting caps on the stamp duty concession scheme for first-home buyers which have remained at $600,000 for a full waiver, and $750,000 for a discounted tax bill, since 2017. State Revenue Office figures show 41,793 Victorian first-home buyers used the scheme in the 2023-2024 financial year, meaning it is helping more than 10 times the numbers likely to be assisted by the federal scheme. However, those numbers are waining as the caps cover an increasingly small portion of the market. At its peakin the 2020-2021 fianancial year, the program assisted almost 54,000 Victorians. They had also sought a more balanced property tax obligations, another budget submission Mr Caine said was ignored despite mounting evidence that landlords were selling up faster than they were being replaced. 'These declines should sound alarm bells, as they reflect a tightening rental market and reduced property investment, just when we need more rental housing, not less,' he said. 'With investor confidence fading, maintaining the budgetary status quo risks further constraining housing supply and worsening affordability issues.' Property Council of Australia Victorian executive director Cath Evans said the budget had left the property sector caught in a 'chokehold' of government fees, costs and charges that were stifling investment. 'The industry was hoping for progress – instead, we've hit a stop sign,' Ms Evans said. 'Since last year's budget, we have been loudly advocating for an easing of the tax burden to promote investment, greater support for first homebuyers and feasibility solutions to increase supply. None of this was addressed in the budget. 'The industry is ready to grow, but it can't grow under the current arrangements.' Housing Industry Association executive director Keith Ryan panned the budget as a bid for re-election that had failed to deliver meaningful and needed tax reform for the property sector. 'Trading conditions for many new home builders have become increasingly precarious in the face of overreaching new regulations, poor consumer confidence and escalating construction costs – many of which have been compounded by Victoria's punitive property tax regime,' Mr Ryan said. 'Unfortunately, this year's budget does little to reduce the prohibitive cost of new home building, apart from the previously foreshadowed decision to extend the stamp duty concession for off-the-plan apartments, units and townhouses for a further 12 months.' He said the one glimmer of hope for first-home buyers was a boost to VLine train services, which could potentially make affordable homes in regional parts of the state more viable for market entrants. Master Builders Victoria chief executive Michaela Lihou said they appreciated a conservative approach, and lauded $50m for the Melbourne Polytechnic Future of Housing Construction TAFE Centre of Excellence. However, Ms Lihou said broader building industry stimulus had been needed. 'While the significant shortage of housing in Victoria has also been a primary focus for the past few years now, we had hoped the Government would have seen the value in a significant stimulus injection to get the industry and homes moving for deserving Victorians,' she said.
News.com.au
11-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
REIV: Melbourne's best bang for buck suburbs revealed in median prices by the square metre
Melbourne's best value suburbs are a core of Dandenong Ranges hubs where big blocks have been shielded from development. While home prices in Narre Warren North routinely tip into multimillion-dollar ranges, the sprawling size of those houses means the median cost for a square metre of land is just under $400. The Real Estate Institute of Victoria figures show nearby Upwey is the next cheapest pocket at $810.5 a square metre, giving the area serious bang for buck contrasted with the wider Melbourne median at about $1550. PropTrack: See what your suburb will be worth in 2030 The city's most affordably suburbs were next, including Melton and Melton West. But the suburbs giving buyers the least amount of property for their purchase price are headed by inner-city hubs, with Richmond's typical house costing $6,569 a square metre. Toorak, home to the city's multimillion-dollar highest overall median house price, didn't even make the top 10 — thanks to its typically larger than average blocks of land. REIV president Jacob Caine said the huge variation in prices per square metre around the city reflected areas that best delivered for those seeking a cosmopolitan lifestyle. In Richmond, he said it was often less about what was under the roof and what was around the corner — with the hefty price for each metre a part of the premium needed to access these areas. Jellis Craig Richmond's Luke Schickerling said Richmond's position as Melbourne's highest price per square metre would have been influenced by a large number of its smallest homes being sold in the past year as investors stepped away from Victoria. But there were still plenty of people who saw value in the area for its easy access to the CBD and Melbourne's sporting precincts. Most recently he said most of those purchasing were usually familiar with the area and often empty nesters, though there had been rising demand from those relocating from overseas recently. Bell Real Estate director Elliot Bell said areas like Narre Warren North and Upwey were appealing more to families seeking value for money. 'A lot of the area is nearly impossible to subdivide as it's a green wedge zone,' Mr Bell said. 'A lot of the foothill suburbs, they are from Melbourne's inner north, Fitzroy, Brunswick and Northcote, and it's usually a younger crowd. And it's a lot of young families and professional couples.' The agent added that with very limited numbers of homes coming to the market in the area most of the time, the area often achieved solid growth — and rarely reflected the lows set by wider Melbourne housing markets. 'We've been telling people for years how good the value is in the area,' Mr Bell said. Property Home Base buyer's advocate Julie DeBondt-Barker said Narre Warren North was already showing up in a lot of the metrics investors look at, suggesting it was not only good value today — but could be primed for future growth. MELBOURNE'S BEST BANG FOR BUCK SUBURBS Narre Warren North — $399.8 Upwey — $810.5 Melton — $826.2 Melton West — $826.4 Montrose — $876.7 Melton South — $929.2 Broadmeadows — $972.8 Laverton — $991.8 St Albans — $1,000.0 Doveton — $1,036.3 All prices are median cost for a square metre MELBOURNE'S PRICIEST SUBURBS BY THE METRE Richmond — $6,569.1 Elwood — $6,337.2 Armadale — $6,168.4 Prahran — $5,449.7 Hawthorn — $5,247.3 Malvern — $5,183.6 Brunswick — $5,095.4 Canterbury — $5,000.0 Footscray — $4,806.8 Brighton — $4,777.3 All prices are median cost for a square metre SOURCE: REIV
