Melbourne
Melbourne, which sits at the head of Port Phillip Bay, Australia’s second-largest city and is the capital of the state of Victoria. Although its population of 3.8 million puts it some way behind Sydney, it is considered by many to be the country’s cultural capital. With Victorian-era architecture, extensive shopping, broad range of cultural institutions and large parks and gardens it is easy to see how it earned the tag. The city’s cultural melting pot feel is boosted by the fact that it is home to large Greek, Italian, Jewish, Vietnamese and other Asian communities.
Melbourne real estate guide
Melbourne’s property industry struggled for much of the first half of the decade, but by 2006 was showing promising growth. Suburbs such Tyabb saw a 99 per cent increase from $A226,000 to $A450,000 median price in the space of two years. St Kilda West saw a rise of 49 per cent from $A740,000 to $A1.1 million and Doreen rose by 48 per cent rise from $A250,000 to $A370,000 over the same period.
However, the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the US and the global credit crunch it prompted saw property prices and sales drop in most Australian cities including Melbourne. The city does however have strong fundamentals and is not coming of the back of a property bubble, as is the case with many other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. This, coupled with the fact that Melbourne has continued to see a steady inflow of tourists, should mean that it will not be adversely affected to the same degree as many other cities are and will be.
Choosing the right area of the city to buy into will also dictate the level of profit or loss investor will see as different districts and suburbs are showing very different patterns. The wealthiest of Melbourne’s suburbs include Toorak with an average home price of $A2.077 million, Canterbury and Brighton at $A1.2 million, and East Melbourne and Kooyong at $A1.15 million. Meanwhile, the most affordable houses can be found at Doveton, which has an average price of around $A175,000 median price, Melton South at $A175,000, Frankston North at $A177,000 and Millgrove at $A177,500.
Melbourne also yields considerably high rents in Australia at AU$350 weekly for houses. However, this falls somewhat short of Sydney’s $390.
Condos in Melbourne
As with other Australian cities, increasing urbanisation and population increases has seen the main focus of property buyers begin to switch from houses to condominium units. And Melbourne boasts a range of attractive high and medium-rise projects that have come online recently. More on buying condos in Melbourne.
Houses and land in Melbourne
Land rarely comes available for one-off housing development in Melbourne and when it does, it is generally not possible for foreigners to purchase. Prices are also quite high and have been rising, albeit modestly, for some time. The price of vacant land in the Melbourne area rose by 1.5 per cent in 2006; a time when the city’s property industry in general was surging ahead. More on buying houses and land in Melbourne.
Renovating
Foreign nationals are only permitted to purchase new properties, which means renovation is not an option under normal circumstances.
Top tips for Melbourne property
Guide to buying condos in Melbourne
Guide to buying houses and land in Melbourne
