Housing demand remains resilient despite higher interest rates and rising home prices, with some Melbourne suburbs even seeing a surge in popularity among buyers as search volumes rise.

PropTrack data revealed that national home prices rose by 0.04 per cent in September, marking the 21st consecutive month of growth, and had increased by 5.7 per cent in the past year.

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But since September 2023, home prices in Melbourne have fallen by 1.8 per cent, while regional Victoria experienced a 1.3 per cent decrease.

Though prices have seen a slight decline, demand for housing in Victoria is still high potentially due to the state’s relative affordability of homes.

Koo Wee Rup has seen a rise in interested buyers year on year. This home at 7 Barnes Way, Koo Wee Rup is under offer for $630k-$690k.

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This is reflected in the number of searches for properties to buy on realestate.com.au in Victoria, which was up 6.3 per cent compared to a year prior.

And in a number of Melbourne suburbs, searches have risen by even more.

Koo Wee Rup, Dallas and Lang Lang East experienced the largest growth in search volume, with 112 per cent, 48 per cent and 44 per cent more buy searches for properties compared to September 2023, respectively.

Bonnie Brook and Eden Park also saw an uptick, rising, by 43 per cent and 35 per cent higher, respectively.

Although the rise in search activity is not necessarily reflective of more people buying in these areas, it does show an increase in interest over the past 12 months.

7A King Street, Dallas is under contract for $650k.

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Currently, Melbourne, Richmond and Hawthorn are the most searched suburbs in Melbourne with close to 400,000 searches each over the month.

With interest rates forecast to decline early next year, this will increase borrowing capacities and improve housing affordability for those looking to buy.

Demand is likely to remain heightened due to the anticipated interest rate drop on top of strong population growth, tight rental markets and home equity gains.

We could see search activity increase further in response to these market conditions.

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