HOUSE prices have dipped in parts of the City of Whittlesea but the fall has been less than the metropolitan average.
The hardest-hit northern suburbs are Doreen and Bundoora, according to the latest figures of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria.
But South Morang prices have increased by 3 per cent, and Epping had a slight improvement, while there were too few sales in Thomastown, Lalor and Mernda to gauge the market, REIV spokesman Robert Larocca said.
“The median house price in the municipality of Whittlesea dropped 2.4 per cent over the year, while the median price for Melbourne houses has fallen 5.3 per cent,” he said.
He said the market had plateaued despite fears that the price falls of 2011 would continue this year.
He also said the conservative market had seen no real growth over the year.
“Both buyers and sellers are waiting to see an improvement before moving,” he said.
Doreen was hardest-hit locally, with the median price falling 4.6 per cent to $485,000 compared with the Melbourne median of $535,000. Houses in Bundoora lost 4.2 per cent in value, putting the median price at $485,000, the same as Doreen.
Over the past year, the median price of a house in South Morang rose by more than $10,000 or 3 per cent to $435,000. Epping added a few thousand dollars to the median price, with a 0.5 per cent rise bringing it to $381,500.
Home-owners in the older suburbs of Lalor and Thomastown and the new estates in Mernda are holding onto their properties. Each of the three suburbs recorded fewer than 30 property sales in the past quarter.
Some eastern suburbs have returned to 2010 peaks, with median prices in Malvern East rising 26.7 per cent in the past quarter and 6.7 per cent over the year to $1,173,500, while Balwyn prices rose 26.2 per cent over the quarter and 20.3 per cent over the year to $1,540,000.
