Melbourne housing market update [video] | November 2023

CoreLogic's National Home Value Index rose a further 0.9% in October, accelerating from a 0.7% rise in September.

Capital city home values rose 2.6% over the three months to October, down from the 3.7% rise seen over the three months to June, likely driven by a combination of higher advertised stock levels and stretched affordability.

Melbourne home values rose another 0.5% in October, continuing a relatively mild rate of growth that's been evident since February.

Since finding a floor, housing values have increased by 4.5%, yet the market remains 3.7% below the record highs of early 2022.

With vendors becoming more active across Melbourne, buyer activity doesn't seem to be keeping pace.

Regional sales are holding reasonably steady but at slightly below-average levels.

With vendor activity gathering some momentum, while buyer activity slows, it's likely selling conditions will continue to rebalance back towards buyers, especially in those cities where advertised supply levels are high.

In markets where demand and advertised supply levels are more evenly balanced, it's logical to expect price growth to slow down.

As the flow of new listings coming into the market accelerates, it's unlikely buyer demand will be able to keep pace amid high interest rates and low sentiment.

Dwelling values rose across each of the capital cities, except Darwin through the month, with Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide as the top-performing markets.

Total listings have normalised, tracking 1% above the 5-year average at the end of October and trending higher.

At the same time, rental vacancies have fallen to new record lows, reaching 0.8% in October.

Upwards pressure on rents is likely to persist until some rental supplies start to flow into the market.

Regional markets continue to lag their capital city counterparts, with the combined regional index up 0.7% in October, compared with the 0.9% rise across the combined capitals.

This trend of higher growth in the capital cities was evident across every state.

Despite the slower pace of growth, every rest of the state region did record a rise in housing values over the month, except regional Tasmania, where housing values were flat.

You may also want to read:

National Housing Market Update [Video] 

Perth Housing Market Update [Video]

Adelaide Housing Market Update [Video]

Sydney Housing Market Update [Video]

Brisbane Housing Market Update [Video]

About Tim Lawless Tim heads up the Core Logic RP Data research and analytics team, analysing real estate markets, demographics and economic trends across Australia. Visit www.corelogic.com.au