Melton remains one of Melbourne’s most affordable pockets to buy into, with median house prices just tipping $400,000.
Latest Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) data showed the median house price in Melton West was $425,000 for the year to September 30 – topping the 10 most affordable suburbs in the state.
Jason Ryder, of Ryder Professional in Melton, said the performance of the housing market across the municipality in recent months was still “rising”.
But he said that home buyers could still pick up a three or four bedroom home for under $400,000, which was a rarity in other parts of the state.
“Affordability is still our greatest asset in Melton,” Mr Ryder said.
“We had an auction at a property in Melton West and about 30 people showed up, there were four bidders and the property sold for $375,000.
“There are definitely still houses that can be purchased out here that are below $400,000.”
Mr Ryder said the area’s long-held reputation for affordable housing was primarily because of its location – about 23 kilometres from Melbourne’s city business district.
“We’re seeing that houses that were $300,000 are selling for close to $400,000 and houses that were $400,000 are selling for a lot more,” he said.
He said vendors still had the upper hand in the Melton housing market.
“Sellers are definitely achieving good prices for their properties,” Mr Ryder said.
“There is a lot of competition out there and in this market, if you’re trying to penny pinch, you might miss out. As more property becomes available we’re hoping that this might change.”
REIV acting president Richard Simpson said that despite Melton West’s 14.1 per cent growth at the beginning of this year, property in the area was still priced well below the metropolitan median of $817,000 (up 0.7 per cent this quarter).
Mr Simpson said the growth in Melton West’s property market was the result of population increases, record low interest rates and strong buyer demand.
“It’s certainly a sellers’ market at present with strong competition for homes … particularly in Melbourne’s more affordable areas,” he said.
