Property in south-west Melbourne is seeing a surge in popularity with vastly improving days on market data, which the REIV claims is signalling intense competition from investors in the region.

The four south-western suburbs that are seeing increasing popularity as of August 2018 are Williams Landing with 64 days on market (down from 105 days a year ago), Point Cook with 52 days on market (down from 71 days a year ago), Seabrook with 49 days on market (down from 84 days a year ago) and Altona with 32 days on market (down from 48 days a year ago).

Richard Simpson, president of the REIV, said that this was a clear trend in south-west Melbourne.

“Properties in Williams Landing sold 41 days faster this August compared with 2017, while those in neighbouring Seabrook were on the market for 35 fewer days, Point Cook listings sold 19 days quicker and the days on market for Altona narrowed by 16 days,” Mr Simpson said.

“Melbourne’s south-west is becoming increasingly popular with buyers, especially young families, who are attracted by access to public transport, proximity to the CBD, plenty of green open space, shopping centres and community facilities.

“The median house price for Point Cook and Williams Landing are both below the $840,000 median house price for metropolitan Melbourne and below the $750,000 cut-off for first home buyer incentives. The median in Point Cook increased by 13.4 per cent in the 12 months to 30 June 2018 to $706,000, while Williams Landing’s median went up by 10.6 per cent to $685,000.”

Looking at the larger Victorian markets, metropolitan Melbourne saw its days on market increase to 36 days this August, up from 32 days a year ago, while regional Victoria’s days on market decreased to 43 days, down from 47 days a year ago.

“Private property listings do not last long in the Yarra Valley, with the REIV’s days on market data showing that homes are snapped up within 10 days in Millgrove, 13 days in Upwey, 14 days in Woori Yallock, 15 days in Yarra Junction and Launching Place and 17 days in Warburton,” Mr Simpson said.

“The South Gippsland town of Lang Lang had the most significant narrowing of days on market between August 2017 and August 2018, shaving off 63 days from 82 to 19.

“Other strong performers were Skye, Narre Warren South, Doreen, Cranbourne East and Cranbourne West where properties lasted just 20 days on market.”

Tough times for property investors

This news comes as investors are generally finding it more difficult to secure finance or refinance, in the wake of the royal commission and a tougher regulatory environment. 

As reported last week, interest-only loans now represent 16.2 per cent, or $61.2 billion, of new home loan approvals, according to the latest data from APRA.

Investor home loan approvals also dropped by 12.4 per cent over the quarter, representing 31.1 per cent of new home loan approvals, a total of $117.5 billion.

Further, the figures also revealed that mortgages with a loan-to-value ratio (LVR) greater than 80 per cent and less than or equal to 90 per cent decreased, falling by 6.2 per cent ($3.4 billion) to 13.5 per cent ($51.1 billion) of all loan approvals.