Popular Melbourne suburbs revealed
Elsternwick, Fitzroy, Mill Park, Mitcham and North Melbourne are among the most desirable suburbs in the Victorian capital, new figures have revealed.
The latest residential property data published last Wednesday (April 4) by the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) indicated that these five suburbs all achieved a clearance rate higher than 80 per cent during auctions held during the March quarter.
This compares with a state-wide year-to-date clearance rate of 62 per cent.
Overall, auction volumes are down 17 per cent compared with the same period last year. Clearance rates have also slipped from 66 per cent during the same three months in 2011.
Other REIV residential real estate data published last week indicated that the median house price in Victoria slipped from $550,000 in 2010 to $540,383 in 2011.
However, the REIV asserts that these figures need to be considered within the context of the 18 per cent rise in house prices that occurred during 2009-10.
"Ongoing increases of that order would not be sustainable and it would appear that prices did drop from the peak in December 2010, partly due to concerns about affordability and a lack of confidence in the economy," the institute asserted on April 2.
