2017年 08月 25日

New Melbourne land sales hit record pace as demand booms

NEW Melbourne blocks are being snapped up at record speed as surging demand and population growth drive rapid sales.

 

Vacant lots spent just one month on the market on average in the three months to June — the shortest period recorded — Oliver Hume research shows.

 

The shelf time of new blocks has plummeted from an average 200 days five years ago to just 30 in the most recent quarter, according to the property services group.

 

Some interstate buyers are so eager to secure affordable land in the Victorian capital they are driving through the night to be among the first at outer Melbourne estate sales launches.

 

More than 25 ticket holders, including families from Brisbane and Sydney, camped out for their favoured allotment at Rockbank’s Accolade estate.

 

Across the city, buyers paid more per square metre for Melbourne land in the June quarter than just three months earlier — forking out an extra $6000 per block on average.

 

The median price of land in metropolitan Melbourne was $268,000 in the June quarter — up 2.3 per cent on the previous three months — with the average price per square metre rising $14 to $654.

 

Meanwhile, the median lot size dropped from 410sq m to 403sq m during the same period.

 

Oliver Hume research manager George Bougias said Melbourne’s booming population was the main driver behind the rush for land across the city.

 

“Recent figures from the ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) show Melbourne had the largest growth of any capital over the last 10 years with nearly 1 million extra people now calling the city home and a total population of 4.72 million. These people have to live somewhere,” he said.

 

Mr Bougias added housing affordability, lifestyle and economic opportunities were the main draws for those moving to Melbourne.

 

Oliver Hume director Paul Ciprian said an ever-increasing number of Sydneysiders were migrating south to Melbourne as they were priced out of their local market.

 

Across Australia, five of the ten main locations with the largest population growth in the 10 years to June 30 2016 were Melbourne suburbs, including Tarneit (up by 28,800 people), the inner city (26,200) and Cranbourne East (22,600).

 

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