HOUSE VALUES HOLD STEADY

The unit market has taken off in Camberwell according to the most recent data from the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV), while house values have remained steady.

REIV data showed the median unit price in Camberwell surged 11 per cent to $855,000 during the 12 months to March 2020, while the median house price grew 1.4 per cent to $2,107,500.

“In Camberwell, we see the sales market and the median house price is reasonably consistent,” said REIV president Leah Calnan.

“Where it has been a more positive story is with regards to the units and apartments in Camberwell, where we saw an 11 per cent change happen in the past 12 months.”

Ms Calnan said the unit price change was probably a reflection of larger blocks of land being developed into luxury townhouses, boutique apartment blocks and multi-storey apartment buildings.

Jonathon O’Donoghue, partner and auctioneer at Jellis Craig Hawthorn, said properties valued at $1 million and below, such as villa units and small townhouses, were selling very well in Camberwell.

“There is an undersupply and very strong demand for those properties, excluding apartments,” said Mr O’Donoghue. “Those properties are selling at auction under strong competition. We can’t get enough villa units and townhouses.”

He said the townhouses and villa units were popular with first and second home buyers because of affordability and the land component.

“If you talk about houses up to and around $2 million, there is a strong demand from young families who are looking to buy the five or 10-year home for themselves,” he said.

“In the low to mid $2 million range, homes are still selling at auction, but with one or two registered bidders rather than four or five. As you get closer to the $3 million mark, we’re finding that the majority of properties that we’re selling are through expressions of interest.”

Mr O’Donoghue said the main factor influencing Camberwell’s property market was the low volume of properties for sale.

“We are approximately 40 percent down on volume, as far as transactions are concerned, compared to pre-COVID,” he said.

However, Mr O’Donoghue said properties were starting to list again, with bookings for August and September starting to filter through their system.

“I think people were probably sitting on their hands during the first wave of COVID-19, but the thing with real estate, especially in this area, is that people sell and buy because their family circumstances change,” he said.

“People will always need to buy into these areas and sell to upgrade or downsize, and other reasons. I think people are now thinking that if the property market was going to change significantly, it would have done so by now.

“From a price perspective, we don’t see any change either way. We don’t think prices are going to go up, but we certainly don’t think the prices are going to go down.”

Mr O’Donoghue said buyers were frustrated with the lack of properties for sale at the moment and were likely to try and secure something quickly as more properties were listed for sale.

He said August and September are expected to be busy months for the Camberwell real estate market.

“As far as the spring market is concerned, there is some renewed confidence from sellers about putting their properties on the market,” he said.

That said, Mr O’Donoghue warned that while there would be more properties filtering through for August and September, it was unlikely to be at the same rate compared to what they would have expected pre-COVID.

In the wider Boroondara area, the median house price rose 1.8 per cent to $2.015 million, while the median unit price jumped 5.1 per cent to $751,500.

Jonathon O’Donoghue, partner and auctioneer at Jellis Craig Hawthorn

Leah Calnan, President of Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV)