State of Markets - VIC July 2012

VICTORIA

Strong VIC population growth forecast

A new Victorian population growth forecast has proved promising for property demand, particularly in Melbourne.

The official report, Victoria in Future 2012, shows an expected steady rise in population from 5.6 million currently to 7.3 million in 2031, an average annual growth rate of 1.3 per cent.

The projection is more optimistic than one recorded in 2008 and the change is due to the forecasting model taking into account strong growth experienced between 2007 and 2009.

“A major component of the government’s long-term plan to manage growth and change is the delivery of new affordable homes, infrastructure and conditions that encourage jobs, businesses and attract investment,” said Planning Minister Matthew Guy.

The newly updated statistics will also prompt new metropolitan planning reforms from the state government to balance this growth.

Melbourne suburbs dominate seller hotspots

Melbourne’s inner suburbs dominated a list of Australia’s “hottest” property sellers’ markets, according to data from realestate.com.au.

The Melbourne suburbs of Heidelberg, Ivanhoe, Blackburn North, Montrose and Middle Park were ranked amongst 10 of the country’s “hottest” property markets, based on data from February 2012.

Parkside, in inner Adelaide, was ranked first, with other suburbs in the top 10 including Holland Park in Brisbane, and Unley, Toorak Gardens and Clarence Park in Adelaide.

The top ten sellers’ markets list, published by realestate.com.au, is based on a ratio of market supply to demand, with the hottest suburbs having both high supply and strong demand.

“Put simply, ‘supply’ represents the weekly average number of properties in a suburb listed for sale on realestate.com.au, and ‘demand’ as the number of visits and user sessions to a property details page in that suburb,” the company said.

Sydney’s suburbs were absent from the top 10.

“Based on insights from our site, we can confirm Parkside remains the best sellers’ market in Australia,” said Joanne Whyte, general manager – brand, communication and insights at realestate.com.au.