By Laura Michell
Four Hume suburbs have bucked a statewide trend, with house prices rising over the three months to December.
While the median house price in Melbourne fell 3.7 per cent in the December quarter, prices in Greenvale, Craigieburn, Mickleham and Westmeadows all rose.
Latest Real Estate Institute of Victoria data shows that median prices increased 3.8 per cent to $778,750 in Greenvale between September and December, while Craigieburn’s median price rose 2.3 per cent to $571,500 during the same period.
In Mickleham, the median price rose 5.5 per cent to $570,000, while Westmeadows recorded a 5 per cent increase to $682,000.
Greenvale, Craigieburn and Westmeadows are also the only Hume suburbs to have recorded price rises throughout 2018, with most suburbs recording falls of between 3 and 10 per cent.
In Whittlesea, median prices fell between September and December, with Epping and Lalor recording the greatest drops.
In Epping, the median price fell 10 per cent to $568,000, while in Lalor the median price fell 8 per cent to $570,000. Median prices were also down over the year in all Whittlesea suburbs expect for the Whittlesea township, which recorded a price rise of 3.6 per cent to $623,000.
REIV president Robyn Waters said the housing market in the outer suburbs was strong and would continue to increase throughout 2019 as buyers searched for affordable options.
“There is no doubt that the banks’ tighter lending conditions are contributing to this trend as are incentives for first homebuyers which encourage the purchase of affordable properties, more likely to be found in outer Melbourne,” she said.
“The REIV expects Victoria’s property market to remain steady in the first half of 2019 as we await the outcome of the royal commission into banking and the federal election but things should begin to look up again in the second half of the year.”
