If the economists had been right, Melbourne property values would have collapsed by now. But they haven’t. Despite all the havoc brought by the pandemic and the economic shutdown, Melbourne real estate has stayed solid. A couple of days ago, SQM Research published its latest Housing Indexes -- which showed that, in May, Melbourne prices for both houses and apartments increased. Only slightly, but in the current circumstances, even the smallest levels of growth are remarkable. Melbourne’s solid performance in May, followed similar outcomes in March and April. One of the reasons Melbourne prices have resisted the doomsday forecasts is that supply and demand has remained roughly in balance. There are fewer buyers out there, but there are also fewer sellers. So, generally speaking, one has balanced out the other. There have been fewer buyers at auctions, but considerably fewer properties being offered at auctions, so clearance rates have been quite high. And despite an increase in vacancies as a result of the pandemic pressures, the overall vacancy rate for Melbourne remains below 3%. So that, apart from the CBD and inner-city suburbs, there’s no major downward pressure on rents or sale prices. So, against this background, this week we have published our new edition of Top 5 Melbourne Hotspots. In this report, we outline our selections for the best areas to buy – taking into account the current unusual circumstances and which locations are best placed to come out the other side of the shutdown period in a good position to grow as we move forward. So have a read of the new Top 5 Melbourne report. Melbourne is always a leader in this country in terms of its economy, its population and its property markets – and I don’t see that changing any time soon.