By Ewen McRae
By Melissa Heagney/Domain
Melbourne’s outermost suburbs are bucking the house price downturn, which has now spread to most of the city.
While house prices in some of Melbourne’s most expensive suburbs have taken a dive over the past 12 months, suburbs within Melton and Moorabool have bucked the trend.
According to the March
Domain House Price Report, Brookfield, Bacchus Marsh, Kurunjang, Eynesbury, Burnside Heights and Truganina were all among the top 20 suburbs for median house price rises in Melbourne.
All those suburbs have experienced median price rises of between six and 10 per cent year-on-year.
In the year to March, the suburb with the biggest decline was inner north-eastern Fairfield, where the median house price slipped 21.4 per cent to $1,122,500.
Experts say first-home buyer incentives have helped buffer the fringes from median falls with buyers looking to purchase for less than $600,000 to qualify for stamp duty exemptions.
Cheaper prices for houses in Melbourne’s west were the main reason David Dickson and his partner Petra Foulds bought a three-bedroom home in Kurunjang, moving in a month ago.
Kurunjang was in the top 10 suburbs to have house prices rise, with a median boost of 8.5 per cent to $439,500.
Mr Dickson works as an aircraft engineer while Ms Foulds is a retail manager and their home is close to where both work. The home is a long-term investment allowing them to plan for the future – including starting a family.
“We’re planning to be here for the next 10 to 15 years – maybe even longer,” Mr Dickson said.
Domain senior research analyst, Dr Nicola Powell, said while the outer western suburbs were holding up, the good run in median prices on the fringes may not last.
“I think there is a delayed impact on these outer areas as the first-home buyers’ initiatives [stamp duty concessions] in Victoria have supported demand and growth but this will wear off over time,” Dr Powell said.
“Especially since the tightening lending criteria is making it harder to get finance for a home.”
