Melbourne's Market Boom

Melbourne has evolved from a struggling market to a boom one in the past 12 months and is now a national leader on growth momentum.   Almost half of the suburbs in Greater Melbourne are now classified by Hotspotting as rising markets and 87% of them have positive rankings in our Price Predictor Index.   This represents a massive transformation from the situation at the start of 2023. Our quarterly surveys show that the number of rising suburbs in Greater Melbourne has increased from 12 (9 months ago) to 58 (6 months ago) and now to 142 – with rising markets increasing from just 4% of suburbs a year ago to 47% now.   A year ago 67 suburbs in Greater Melbourne were categorised as declining markets; now there are none.   This return to a market characterised by high buyer demand is seen right across the Greater Melbourne area, with the exception of the Mornington Peninsula.   The City of Melbourne, which includes the Melbourne CBD and near-City suburbs, is thriving – but so too are Middle Melbourne precincts like the Whitehorse LGA and the Monash LGA, as well outer-ring areas such as the City of Casey in the far south-east, Wyndham in the far south-west, Melton in the far west and Whittlesea on the northern fringe of the Greater Melbourne area.   Earlier this year we identified the City of Melbourne as a national leader of an emerging trend of rising buyer demand for inner-city apartments.   This survey has confirmed the strength of this market: the 10 City of Melbourne suburbs in our analysis include nine rising markets and one recovering market.   The neighbouring City of Yarra also has busy markets.   The City of Whitehorse figures among the standout areas in the middle-ring areas. The 16 suburbs in our analysis include 10 rising suburbs, led by Box Hill; Mitcham; and Nunawading.   Other Middle Melbourne areas with strong markets include the LGAs of Banyule, Monash and Moonee Valley.   Many of the outer-ring municipalities are attracting high demand. All 15 suburbs in our City of Casey analysis have positive sales activity trends, including 10 classified as rising markets.   The City of Melton in the far west has 16 suburbs on our list and 15 of them have positive trends, including 9 rising markets.    It’s a similar story with the Wyndham LGA in the south-west and the City of Whittlesea in the north of Greater Melbourne.   Overall, Melbourne markets have transitioned into 2024 with good momentum – and we expect solid price growth in many markets as the year unfolds – certainly much better than the results of 2023.