Add CategoryFirst-home buyers should act fast to take advantage of a coronavirus-driven price dip in some popular Melbourne suburbs.
Units in hot inner markets Balaclava, Brunswick, South Melbourne and Thornbury have dropped to a median price below the $600,000 First Home Loan Deposit Scheme cap for existing homes. Victorian first-home buyers don’t stamp duty below $600,000, either.
Breaking into Docklands, St Kilda East, Ferntree Gully and Beaconsfield Upper is also easier, with median unit prices dipping just below the price threshold required to qualify for a deposit reduction.
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First-home buyers are setting their sights on suburbs with price drops. Picture: Nicki Connolly
The CoreLogic report comes as another 1800 spots were recently made available in the extended federal government scheme, which requires only a 5 per cent deposit from borrowers.
McGrath St Kilda agent Jesse Jones said Balaclava and St Kilda East offered the “best value for money” in the inner south.
“They are hidden gems in Melbourne … a lot of buyers who are looking in Prahran and Windsor realise that by crossing over Dandenong Road they can get a much more affordable option with more space,” Mr Jones said.
“The additional stamp duty discount is only increasing interest from purchasers, who know (the discount) won’t last forever and that interest rates can’t get any lower.”
14/36 Brighton Road, Balaclava, is for sale.
The two-bedroom apartment has a $460,000-$490,000 price guide.
He said growing demand meant unit prices were on the rise once again, so buyers should act fast to take advantage of Balaclava’s $598,436 median and St Kilda East’s $579,514 median unit price.
Clayton and Oakleigh unit prices also dipped below the first-home buyer threshold to $570,988 and $575,210 medians between March 2020 and January this year.
But O’Brien Real Estate Oakleigh director Max Martinucci said budding buyers should be realistic about what they could get at that price point.
First-home buyers needed to be realistic about what their money could buy, Mr Martinucci said.
6/88 Alexandra Street, St Kilda East, is for sale with a $1.09-$1.15m price guide.
“You can probably get an off-the-plan townhouse, high-density apartment or a two-bedroom unit on a main road,” Mr Martinucci said.
“The new-build apartments get thrown into the unit market data and really drag median prices down, when in reality the market has not become more affordable.
“We have first-home buyers who are cashed up and in their late 20s spending about $700,000-$800,000 in the area.”
5/15 State Street, Oakleigh East, has a $530,000-$580,000 guide.
The well-maintained unit goes to auction on February 27.
Buyers ought to consider looking further out to secure a larger property, he said. An $850,000 price cap for new homes could first-home buyers break into a number of outer suburbs with land available.
Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar told the Herald Sun the scheme helped about 15,000 first-time buyers break into the property market much sooner and bolstered the construction industry.
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“Since the commencement of the scheme a year ago there has been an extraordinary take up of guarantees by first-home buyers,” he said.
WHERE UNIT PRICES HAVE FALLEN BELOW $600,000:
Balaclava median value in January 2021: $598,436, fallen $19,856 since March 2020
Brunswick $579,828 median, fallen $28,319
Docklands $575,517 median, fallen $40,679
South Melbourne $596,486 median, fallen $49,438
St Kilda East $579,514 median, fallen $34,169
Thornbury $584,288 median, fallen $27,416
Ferntree Gully $576,067 median, fallen $24,372
Beaconsfield Upper $573,562, fallen $28,142
Clayton $570,988 median, fallen $65,579
Oakleigh $575,210 median, fallen $53,324
Source: CoreLogic
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