Melbourne has started 2024 as Australia’s house price loser.
According to CoreLogic’s daily dwelling values index, Melbourne is the only major capital city market to experience price falls, with values falling by 0.3% so far this year, against a 2.1% increase at the 5-city aggregate level:
The rolling 28-day time series of value growth is provided in the following chart:
After rebounding in February, Melbourne dwelling values have resumed falling, in contrast to the other major capital cities.
Melbourne’s auction clearance rate has also weakened more than the other major capital cities, notably Sydney:
Auction clearance rates have historically been a strong leading indicator for price growth.
Melbourne has also recorded the strongest lift in listings out of the major capital city markets, according to PropTrack:
Source: PropTrack
Melbourne’s total listings rose by 12.8% in the year to March 2024, versus a 0.9% decline in listings across the combined capital cities.
The softness in the auction market, combined with the strong rise in listings, suggests that Melbourne home values will continue underperform in the period ahead.
