But is there trouble ahead for mum-and-dad investors?
Victoria set a record for auction clearance rates last month, according to new data from the Real Estate Institute of Victoria.
The state posted an 84.8% clearance rate from more than 3,000 auctions, according to REIV. That’s the highest clearance rate ever for February, beating the 2010 record clearance rate of 84%.
While COVID-19-related lockdowns, international border closures and economic impacts have affected many markets, the Victorian property market has been more resilient than many expected, REIV said. Seventeen suburbs cleared 100% of their listings last month.
Reservoir, Coburg and Bentleigh East were the top-selling auction suburbs for February, clearing 44, 37, and 35 auctions, respectively. Eleven suburbs at least doubled their auction sales over February 2020. The greatest year over year improvements were in Sunshine North, Dingley Village, Gladstone Park, Ashwood, Albert Park, Fitzroy North, Doncaster, St Kilda West, Montmorency, Hoppers Crossing and Templestowe.
Read more: Market share spikes for first-home buyers
This year’s auction performance has been boosted by incentives for first-home buyers, mortgage repayment holidays and low interest rates, REIV said. High demand has also been driven by an increase in activity following Victoria’s COVID-19 lockdowns, which caused the cancellation of thousands of auctions.
While Victoria’s property market is booming, REIV foresaw pain ahead for mum-and-dad investors.
“Changes to the Residential Tenancy Act coming into effect at the end of this month will disrupt the market with more red tape and increased ownership costs,” REIV said.
