“Experience A Better Way”®

The real estate market has been consistently achieving record results and remained competitive throughout the 2014/15 Financial Year. Master Advocates have acquired great properties purchased on behalf of our clients that have been both to occupy and as an investment.

Now more than ever as the market seems to be continuing to deliver competition and strong bidding to purchase property. We at Master Advocates rely on our many years of industry knowledge, experience, skills and networks when it comes to assisting our clients to purchase or provide property management services at the best possible price, terms and conditions to suit our clients needs and portfolio goals.

The market still seems to have approximately 10% less property available compared to this time last year in Melbourne Metro areas and the current bank interest rates remaining at an all time low has assisted in fueling buyers to stretch and bid competitively well above what would generally be the median price expectancy.

Melbourne is one of the world’s greatest and most liveable cities and there is still many suburbs within Melbourne that have great capital growth potential and rental yield and should certainly be highly considered for property investment.

Melbourne, Victoria

Market Overview

Resident population in Victoria records highest growth in all states

The REIV Research Bulletin provides an overview of a number of current market indicators including:

• Median prices;
• Vacancy rates and rental growth;
• Auctions and clearance rates;
• Residential Transactions
• REIV Property Market Sentiment Index; and
• Days on market

Following the RBA (Reserve Bank of Australia) meeting in July 2015, the cash rate was left unchanged at its record low of 2.0 per cent. Inflation is expected to remain within target despite the weaker dollar, given that wage growth has been subdued. Economic growth is expected to track below trend, on the back of labour market conditions. The low interest rate environment should continue to drive demand in the property market. There were around 3,000 auctions held in June 2015, 100 more than the same time last year. At 78 per cent, the clearance rate was the highest for the month of June since 2009 and is significantly higher than the 71 per cent recorded for the same period last year. The REIV House Price Index (HPI) for metro Melbourne increased slightly by 0.4 per cent to 174.4 in June 2015 from 173.8 in the previous month. The HPI for regional Victoria increased by 1.2 per cent to 135.1 in June from 133.5 per cent in May – the highest monthly increase since September 2014. The increase comes on the back of $500 million worth of funding being approved for regional infrastructure development by the State Government. Unit prices grew at a moderate pace over June, by 0.2 per cent to 155.8 from 155.5 in the previous month. The vacancy rate in metro Melbourne decreased to 2.9 per cent in June 2015 from 3.0 per cent in the previous month. The vacancy rate in regional Victoria on the other hand, increased to 2.4 per cent in June from 2.3 per cent in May and has been trending upwards since March 2015. Approximately 10,800 residential sales were transacted in June this year, which is 14 per cent higher than the 9,400 sales over the same period last year. Continued strong annual growth in sales and property prices, on the back of high clearance rates indicates that while growth is expected to moderate in winter, the property market will continue to remain stronger than it has in the past five years.

Economy

The board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 2.0 per cent, following the RBA meeting in July 2015. The RBA reiterated its stance on below-trend economic growth and noted that while the unemployment rate declined over May 2015, it remains elevated. Moreover, there has been substantial credit growth, as the credit demand from businesses and the housing market continues to grow. The Australian dollar decreased significantly following the recent exit of Greece from the Eurozone and is expected to continue softening on the back of declining commodity prices. Inflation is expected to remain within target despite the weaker dollar, given slower wage growth. The RBA expressed that it will continue to assess the need for monetary policy based on economic and financial conditions. The low interest rate environment should continue to attract both owner-occupiers and investors alike, which should favour growth in the housing market in the near to medium term.

Capital city dwelling values 9.8% higher over the financial year

Housing values rebound higher in June taking dwelling values across the combined capital cities almost 10% higher over the financial year.

Based on the CoreLogic RP Data June home value results capital city dwelling values finished the 2014/15 financial year on a strong footing, with dwelling values rising 2.0% over the June quarter and 9.8% higher over the year.

For further information or to arrange a no obligation consultation, contact Mark or Michelle Errichiello: +61 3 9379 1919; +61 408 988 118; info@masteradvocates.com.au; www.masteradvocates.com.au/about-us

Master Advocates are Licensed Estate Agents, CEA (REIV),