By VANESSA CHIRCOP
HOUSE prices in Hobsons Bay are following the Melbourne trend by remaining steady, the latest figures from the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) have shown.
However median house prices in Newport bucked the trend this quarter, with a whopping increase of 8.4 per cent followed by Altona Meadows with an increase of 3.5 per cent and Altona with an increase of 1.7 per cent.
The Newport increase also saw the suburb named one of the top 10 growth suburbs for the June quarter.
According the figures Williamstown is the only Hobsons Bay suburb to have recorded a fall in median house price value, dropping by 3.4 per cent.
The median price of a house in Newport will now set homeowners back $530,000 – despite this increase Williamstown still remains Hobsons Bay’s most expensive suburb with a median price of $870,000.
The median price of a house in metropolitan Melbourne has increased by 2.9 per cent to $535,000.
REIV CEO Enzo Raimondo said that a combination of broader economic factors, slowing population growth and continuing low levels of consumer confidence have resulted in no real capital growth in the residential market this year.
“Both buyers and sellers are approaching the market in a conservative manner,” he said.
“This is translating into a lower number of sales than is present in a strong market and as a result, no real price growth has been recorded.
“The median price has fallen 5.3 per cent over the past 12 months but, as the overall median has not changed in the past six months, this indicates that the market has plateaued and is likely to remain like this until confidence improves.”
