Tara Murray
House prices rebounded in the September quarter in Hume and Whittlesea, according to the latest Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) data.
While median house prices across metropolitan Melbourne fell by 1.7 per cent in the three months to September as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, several Hume and Whittlesea suburbs recorded an increase in house prices.
REIV data shows Doreen, Wollert and Craigieburn were in the top eight suburbs for the highest growth in median house prices during the quarter, for suburbs with at least 30 house sales.
Doreen had the third-highest growth, with the median house price reaching $621,500 up from $600,000 three months ago. The quarterly change was 3.6 per cent.
Wollert features in the top highest growth suburbs for a second straight quarter, with house prices increasing by 1.9 per cent to $572,000.
Craigieburn had a slight growth of 0.1 per cent to $573,000.
Several suburbs in Hume and Whittlesea, which didn’t record 30 sales in the quarter, also had median price increases.
Thomastown had a whopping growth of 17.9 per cent to $681,000, with South Morang recording an increase of 6.6 per cent to $650,000 and Lalor 5.6 per cent to $613,000.
Mill Park had a slight increase of 0.7 per cent to $705,000.
Ray White South Morang managing director Chamara Adihetty said the biggest reason for the price rises in many Whittlesea suburbs was a lack of stock. They sell properties in suburbs including Doreen, South Morang, and Mill Park.
“There’s not enough stock, so it’s keeping the prices up and we haven’t seen a drop,” he said.
“The buyers are still there but there’s been a shortage of stock. We’ve started to get some more properties in the last couple of weeks.”
Mr Adihetty said one property was only advertised for two days before it sold, while another property was purchased without an inspection.
He said they were also finding that people were willing to buy in suburbs further out than in the past, due to working from home and not having to commute.
Mr Adihetty expected the market to turn and more properties become available once restrictions ease.
In Hume, median house prices increased in Mickleham and Greenval.
In Mickleham, the median house price went up by 4.5 per cent to $578,000 and in Greenvale it was up by 1.4 per cent to $745,000.
In Roxburgh Park, median house prices were down by 1.7 per cent to $555,000.
For a second straight quarter, there was no data for Broadmeadows, Meadow Heights and Jacana.
