Part 3/7:
Melbourne's Market: From Lagging to Leading
The spotlight then turned to Melbourne's real estate recovery, an area that had experienced significant underperformance over recent years. According to Eleanor Cray, a senior economist at REA Group, Melbourne's housing market had hit its lowest valuation relative to Sydney in nearly two decades, following a prolonged period of stagnation.
Over the past five years, Melbourne home prices increased by approximately 20%, a modest rise compared to other major cities. For context:
- Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth experienced about 90% growth over the same period.
This disparity caused Melbourne to slide down the rankings of Australia's most expensive capital cities, with other markets overtaking it in terms of median home values.