Victoria market rebounds with positive quarterly price growth
Victoria’s first across-the-board positive quarterly price results since December 2021, coupled with improved buyer sentiment, have prompted industry bodies to project a more optimistic market outlook.
The Real Estate Institute of Victoria’s (REIV) data for the March 2025 quarter has shown that the median dwelling price increased across the state for the first time in almost four years.
Data showed that metropolitan Victoria recorded a 2.7 per cent growth, while regional areas saw a 1.2 per cent house price increase.
The institute said this quarter marks the first time since December 2021 that positive quarterly price results have been posted across houses, units and apartments in both metropolitan and regional Victoria.
REIV CEO, Kelly Ryan, said the quarterly results demonstrate that more buyer-friendly conditions in Victoria continue to encourage investment across the state’s property market.
“We are seeing the ongoing, positive impact of improved buyer sentiment on Victoria’s property market transaction activity,” she said.
Across the state, the inner-city suburb of Port Melbourne emerged as a top performer over the quarter, which notched up an 18.6 per cent increase to its quarterly median house price.
The peak body also attributed the positive quarterly results to strong regional demand, particularly in the town of Stawell’s quarterly median house price growth of 7.9 per cent.
Over the quarter, REIV said that several markets with median house prices below that of Metropolitan Melbourne ($894,500) are earmarked for future growth, such as Lalor ($735,000), South Morang ($816,250) and Thomastown ($747,500).
The data also showed that there are a variety of affordable options for units and apartments in inner-city suburbs, such as Travancore ($347,500), West Footscray ($435,000) and West Melbourne ($430,000).
REIV noted increased buyer interest in units and apartments from those looking to establish a foothold in the property market.
As part of this growth, two Melbourne suburbs notably exceeded the 20 per cent growth mark for quarterly median unit and apartment price, with price increases of 26.9 per cent in Mordialloc and 20.8 per cent in Preston.
Ryan said that the results reflect the diversity of Victoria’s property market and a willingness on the part of buyers that, despite being impacted by cost-of-living challenges, will still “seek out attractive opportunities across the board”.
“This renewed confidence seems to be common among a range of buyers, in that the positive results we are seeing are not confined to either the higher or lower ends of the market,” she said.
Looking forward, Ryan emphasised that the increase in buyer confidence within Victoria was also good news for prospective sellers.
“Like many of the state’s commercial sectors, Victoria’s residential property market has confronted a unique set of challenges over recent years,” Ryan said.
“While there’s obviously still some way to go, these results point to a positive rebound,” she concluded.