REIV analysis of the property market over the September quarter reveals that units and apartments have experienced less volatility in median prices than houses.
In broad terms, the unit and apartment market remains stable with the median price recording a minor change of -0.4 per cent, from $370,325 in the June quarter this year to $369,000 this quarter.
Over the previous twelve months the median has increased by 1.4 per cent from $364,000.
The stability of the unit and apartment market is partly a result of Melbourne still having a very tight rental market, which is providing some incentives for investors to be active in the market.
In addition to the tight rental market there are two significant reasons why demand in the unit and apartment market has remained stable. Firstly ABS data shows a long term trend towards smaller household sizes and this can be linked to underlying demand for smaller abodes which are generally located closer to the CBD and other centres of activity in the inner city. Also units and apartments are generally more affordable than detached properties and therefore are attractive option for renters who are buying their first property.
Units and apartments sold by auction and private sale throughout the September quarter followed a similar trend, with the median price at auction dropping by 1.3 per cent and by 1.4 per cent when sold at private sale.
Similar to the houses market the volume of transactions in the private sale market was only slightly down on the June quarter at 2847 as compared to 2928. It is however down almost 1000 transactions compared to the September quarter of 2007 when 3843 units and apartments were sold by private sale.
