The north reclaimed its position as the most affordable of Melbourne’s four growth corridors, alongside the west, after losing the mantle at the end of 2023.

It also had the shortest period of average days on market in Q1 2024; at 143 days, this was higher than the previous quarter but in line with the time on market increasing across the board.

Our Q1 2024 Victoria Greenfield Market Report showed that sales surged 25% during Q1 with 666 lot sales and increases across all four sub-growth areas.

New supply in the north fell 11% to 454 lots while the median lot price also fell by 2.3% to $370,000 after rising 2.4% in Q4 2023.

This decline was observed in the subregions of Hume, Whittlesea and Sunbury, while Mitchell was the only subregion to see growth during the quarter.

The overall median lot size remained stable at 350sqm, although there continues to be a notable variation in lot sizes between Hume and Whittlesea compared to Sunbury and Mitchell.

RPM National Managing Director of Project Marketing Luke Kelly said the dip in the median sale price was driving increased demand in the northern corridor.

“The north claimed one in three sales across all growth corridors during Q1, showing its importance particularly to buyers looking for affordability,” he said.

“However, stock returns increased by 33% for the three months to March 31, which indicates that buyers are failing to reach settlement due to reduced borrowing capacity.”

“We are seeing improved buyer sentiment, but interest rates need to come down if we’re to see a dramatic improvement in the north’s fortunes.”

This article references findings from our Q1 2024 Victoria Greenfield Market Report.