In the three months to the end of June, 42 Melbourne suburbs had a clearance rate of 90% or above, but only four suburbs managed to record a perfect clearance rate according to figures from the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV).
“The four red-hot sale suburbs were Blackburn South, Ferntree Gully, Chadstone and Heidelberg, each had 15 or more auctions and all those homes sold,” REIV chief executive officer Enzo Raimondo said.
“By the same time last year only one suburb – Ashwood – had a clearance rate of 100%,” Raimondo said.
Despite the apparent rarity of a suburb pushing its clearance rate into triple figures, Cate Bakos, director of Melbourne based Cate Bakos Property said she wasn’t shocked by the four that had managed it.
“I’m not really surprised those suburbs have had results like that, they all have different qualities that make them really attractive to buyers and I would’ve thought there would be some other suburbs that might have had similar results,” Bakos said.
For Blackburn South, which is around 17 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD, Bakos said a combination of supply and popularity had likely led its strong results.
“Blackburn South has become very popular with Chinese investors recently which have been driving a lot of the sales there, but it’s also growing in popularity with upgraders as people are looking to find a home not too far east of the city,” she said.
“Also speaking to agents in the area, stock listings have been tight so there’s not a lot of supply to meet the demand and as a result auctions there are being really well attended.”
Despite being more than 30 kilometres from the CBD, Ferntree Gully’s location likely played an important role in it cracking the 100% mark.
“Ferntree Gully has been really popular with first home buyers with there being a lot of property around at the sub $600,000 mark,” Bakos said.
“It’s a bit further out, but it’s at the foot of the Dandenong Ranges and that’s helped it, it’s popular with upgraders too and private sales are also doing really well there.”
Also to the east of the CBD, recent efforts to makeover Chadstone have helped make it more attractive to buyers.
“Chadstone had been a bit of an ugly duckling, but it’s gaining popularity as people are looking to the middle ring and the affordable suburbs around it,” Bakos said.
“It’s going through a period of gentrification as well, a lot of people have been buying land there and building their dream homes and it’s also really close to the M1 and big shopping facilities which people like. “
To the north east of the CBD, Heidelberg’s infrastructure and housing stock are helping its popularity.
“Heidelberg has the hospital as well as what is generally good quality housing stock and that’s making it popular with upgraders,” Bakos said.
“For people looking for a family home it’s a bit more affordable than neighbouring suburbs like Northcote, but we’re still seeing some amazing results there with sales up around the $1 million mark.”
