Prices of Australian properties have seen a robust increase and show no signs of abating, said some analysts, after the weekly sales in one state hit a record A$1.03 billion (S$1.3 billion).
According to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria, “the largest dollar volume of transactions ever recorded” was seen last week amidst growing confidence in the economy, as people took advantage of low interest rates.
“We’ve seen more physical sales in a week period, but never have they passed the billion dollar mark,” said Robert Larocca, a research manager.
“So that’s partly a sign of how strong the market is and it’s also a sign that people are spending more than they have in the past.”
Mr. Larocca also said that the increase in sales was spurred by the historically low interest rates after the global fiscal crisis, as well as the growing population in Melbourne, the second largest city in Australia, outstripping available housing.
“People are confident, they are confident because the economy is going much better than they expected it to,” he added.
According to David Airey, president of the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA), Melbourne is one of the strongest markets in the country, but noted that prices of Australian properties were, in general, rising and very strong.
“The property market in all Australian capital cities has had a rapid recovery from mid-2009 onwards, and noticeably in Melbourne and Sydney with property prices rising quite significantly over that six month period,” he said.
“I think that will be reflected again this quarter with further growth in all capital cities.”
Mr. Airey also said that Australians felt that property was a safe investment, with average house prices rising by 18.5 percent in Melbourne and by over 12 percent around the country.