In some cases, the median price will have increased and in others, it will have decreased. But to understand what the results mean, it is important to understand what a median is.

The median is not the average. The median value is the middle price in a series of sales, where half of the sales are of lower value and half are of higher value. For example, if 15 sales are recorded in a suburb and arranged in order from lowest to highest value, the eighth sale price is the median price.

Median prices are used rather than average prices because median prices are unaffected by a few unusually high or low prices, making them more accurate.

If your suburb does not appear on the list, it may be because of insufficient sales or because the area is not an official suburb.

The institute collects the results of about 70 per cent of all residential property sales in the quarter and publishes the suburb-by-suburb results where we believe the sample is an accurate reflection of the sales activity.

When there are fewer than 30 sales in a quarter but it is a reasonable sample, the result carries an asterix to explain there are enough sales to make it statistically reliable.

The quest for a more relaxed lifestyle in the wide outdoors continues to draw people out of Melbourne and into rural Victoria.

Since it was first identified as a trend in the late ’90s and early noughties, the tree-change phenomenon has continued to gather pace and while the global financial crisis has led to some slowing in numbers moving out to places further afield, leafy destinations in close proximity to the city remain popular among those looking to escape the rat race.

Bernard Salt, a KPMG property advisory services partner and author of The Big Shift, says many of the established tree-change destinations are continuing to gather momentum.

“If you look at the common denominators, these are places generally within an hour of the urban fringe, maybe two hours from Melbourne,” he says.

Popular tree-change destinations in Victoria — similar to those elsewhere in Australia — share a range of characteristics. “They are always green and pleasant and undulating — no one tree-changes to a dry, flat, wheatbelt town,” Mr Salt says. “They are always pretty places … and they often also have some sort of historical character. The absolute maraschino cherry on top is that there’s some sort of celebrity connection to the town, like Mel Gibson has a farm down the road.”

In Victoria, popular destinations for tree-changers continue to include areas such as Maldon, Creswick and Castlemaine in the Goldfields, as far north as Echuca on the Murray River and, to the north-east, communities such as Kilmore and Seymour, Alexandra and Walhalla.

South-east of Melbourne, destinations include a stretch from Pakenham to Drouin, while to the west, in-demand locations include Inverleigh and Bacchus Marsh, as well as Ceres and Bannockburn, which are just outside Geelong.

“Bannockburn is one that has gone gangbusters,” Mr Salt says.

Seka Powell, a director at ResCom in Bannockburn, says the company has just had the best three months she’s seen in a decade, fuelled by the opening of the Geelong bypass a couple of years ago, which has significantly cut travel times to Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge.

“[And] it’s just 15 minutes into Geelong and 40 minutes to Ballarat, or you can shoot over the ring road and get down to the coast very easily.”

One-acre (0.4 hectare) blocks are available for about $170,000, while half-acre (0.2 hectares) blocks are about $150,000. Established homes can go for anything from the low $300,000s up to the mid-$600,000s. “If you compare it to Geelong, you’re certainly getting more bang for your dollar, no doubt,” Ms Powell says.

While the tree-change movement was sparked by retirees, Mr Salt says the trend has moved beyond them.

“I think we’re now getting people aged in their late 30s, early 40s — Generation Xers — who just don’t buy into the inner-city lifestyle … and are prepared to make different choices.

“So, [it's] a new, younger, generation of people who are prepared to trade down their high-flying job in the city and take something a little less well paid but trade up in the quality of the environment.”

Addressing the suggestion that a significant number of tree-changers have been moving back to the city, Mr Salt says that while it may be happening in certain cases, “for all the people coming back, there must be more people going in the other direction because the numbers keep growing every year”.

“The numbers in places such as Bannockburn, Daylesford, Echuca and the Goldfields just continue to grow.”

In Echuca — the closest Murray River community to Melbourne — Stephen Tonkin, a director of LJ Hooker, says the global financial crisis did have an effect on the number of tree-changers willing to buy at the higher end of the market ($500,000-plus).

But he adds that there remains a “good feed” of buyers from Melbourne. These include people who are buying lifestyle properties along the Murray River to live in immediately, as well as those who are buying low-maintenance properties to let to holidaymakers for a few years before moving in themselves after their retirement.

“I have sold a number of higher-end properties to people who intend to move here in about five years,” Mr Tonkin says.

LJ Hooker offices in northern Victoria recently launched an online magazine specifically aimed at selling to tree-changers.

Over in Daylesford, real estate agent John Evans says the relative affordability of properties and its close proximity to Melbourne remain key factors in drawing people to the area.

“You can buy a fairly substantial property here for the price of a terrace in Fitzroy … You can set yourself up in a pretty reasonable [three-bedroom] property here for the low to mid-$400,000s.”

Blocks of land are still selling for $130,000 to $140,000.

Mr Evans adds that the concept of telecommuting is helping to fuel demand from tree-changers.

“With the advances in technology helping them, they don’t really have to go into the office as much, do they?” he says.

“In the past, they used to call them ‘weekday widows’ — they’d shift to the country and dad would go back to the city to work Monday to Friday and come back on the weekends. But now mum or dad can stay — depending on who the working partner is — the whole week because they can work from home. I just think that opportunity is available to them more than it was a few years back.”

While it’s true most tree-changers move within an hour or two of the city, there are those who are attracted further afield. But Mark Norling, the principal at Elders in Bairnsdale, says there was certainly a marked downturn in the numbers making the move to inland locations around Bairnsdale and Sale when the global financial crisis hit. He adds that the tightening financial situation has seen some tree-changers forced to return to Melbourne in search of work.

That said, he says the company is still selling eight-hectare and 40-hectare lifestyle properties to tree-changers preparing for a move down the track.

“They’re buying them, paying them off and then they’re going to build a house and retire up here.”

Mr Salt, meanwhile, sees no indication that the tree-change phenomenon won’t continue for the foreseeable future.

“The lure of the bush — the lifestyle — is incredibly powerful, whether in fact it’s the tree-change or the sea-change option.

“We are a lifestyle-driven people, you only have to look at our demography to see that. We love the beach and, increasingly, we love these ‘cutie-pie’ little towns within striking distance of Melbourne. [They] just keep on growing, year in, year out.”

Earning a crust in a tiny town

David Cummins made the move from Melbourne to the small community of Chewton, just outside Castlemaine, about two years ago.

As a conveyancer who had previously lived in Northcote for 20 years, he decided to make the move — along with his mother and a family friend — after seeing some of his clients successfully do so.

“Primarily, we needed the business to be able to operate within an hour of the city,” he says. “We needed all the services like broadband, phone services and overnight express post … that kind of thing.”

They subsequently moved into Chewton’s former bakery and have renovated it to provide them with three separate residences, as well as an office from where he now works.

While his clients are still based in the Northcote area, Mr Cummins says he’s had to return to Melbourne for work less often than he had expected.

“It’s all emails, fax correspondence and phone calls, anyway.”

Mr Cummins says he should have made the move years ago and adds that he’s moved not just for the peace and quiet but for the chance to have a change of lifestyle. “It’s fairly relaxed,” he adds

Melbourne’s property market has put in a decidedly lacklustre performance over the last quarter, with the city’s median house and unit prices dragged down by growing weakness at the top end.

The Real Estate Institute of Victoria reports the median metropolitan house price rose just 0.9 per cent to $565,000 in the three months to September. The median apartment/unit price increased by 0.3 per cent to $470,000.

The REIV data shows that the top quarter of the market experienced price falls of 0.6 per cent for houses and 0.8 per cent for units.

Interestingly, one new trend highlighted in the data is the declining importance of auctions, which have long been the engine of price growth for the city.

‘‘The median price for properties sold by auction actually declined by 1.5 per cent in September, while the median price for those sold by private sale increased by 4 per cent,’’ said REIV
spokesman Robert Larocca.

‘‘It’s a sign that the market is now being driven by the more affordable and middle sectors of the market rather than by the upper levels of the market, which are where most auctions are concentrated.’’

But it was a trend that was hard to pinpoint yesterday, when there were some strong sales results in the higher price brackets.

The auction clearance rate was 67 per cent for the 601 properties that were available for sale, according to the REIV. (The results of 105 auctions were not reported.)

In Glen Iris, five bidders pushed the sale price of 26 Summerhill Road to $2.3 million -$450,000 over its reserve.

Hocking Stuart had quoted the six bedroom 1910 period house at $1.7 million to $1.9 million.

The auction of 1/35 Stewart Street in Ormond didn’t really heat up until the three-bedroom townhouse was declared on the market at $831,000. Two bidders had been responsible for getting it to that level from an opening at $750,000 but four new parties then jumped in and the property eventually sold for $997,000.

A three-bedroom Californian bungalowat 2 ElNidoGrove in Carnegie attracted three bidders and sold under the hammer for $842,500 off a reserve of $780,000. Buxton quoted the property at $750,000-plus.

There was a similarly strong result for 21 Bessazile Avenue in Forest Hill, a three bedroom 1960s house that hit its reserve at $735,000 but sold for $801,000. Ray White said five bidders made a play for the property, which had been quoted in the high-$600,000 to low-$700,000 range.

At the top end, a two-storey Victorian terrace at 100 Victoria Avenue in Albert Park sold for $3.27 million after being declared on the market at $3 million. Hocking Stuart had quoted it at $2.7 million to $2.8 million.

But vendors certainly didn’t get it all their own way yesterday.

In Prahran, a double-fronted Victorian at 65 Greville Street passed in without a whisper and is yet to be sold. ‘‘If someone asked me what is the most saleable style of house in Melbourne
I would say a double-fronted Victorian home with a northern aspect at the back and off-street parking, and that’s what that house had,’’ said buyer’s advocate Michael Ramsay.

The property opened and passed in on a vendor bid of $1.4 million without one raised hand from a crowd of about 60 people. ‘‘A house like that in good times would have five bidders but today it couldn’t attract one. [It] would normally be absolutely bulletproof,’’ Mr Ramsay said.

RT Edgar, which quoted the property at $1.4 million-plus, said negotiations were under way. The story was much the same nearby at 6A Aberdeen Road in Prahran, where a three-bedroom townhouse opened and passed in on a vendor bid of $850,000. The reserve is $895,000.

There are 1170 auctions scheduled next weekend, the highest number of properties available on a single weekend sinceMarch 2008.

Analyst Residex reported that Melbourne house values rose just 0.33 per cent last month (apartment values fell1.03 per cent).

That was only marginally better than the 0.27 per cent growth in house values recorded in May, when the  market was commonly said to have ‘‘turned’’ after Anzac Day.

Residex chief executive John Edwards said Melbourne’s market peaked in April when the growth rate hit 3.2 per cent in a single month, declining steadily but not uniformly since then.

‘‘[The results] are not saying that the market is dreadful. Melbourne is just quieting; the rate of price growth isdefinitely slowing,’’ Mr Edwards said.

There was a strong level of demand witnessed in yesterday’s auction market as a surge of stock hit the market ahead of next week’s lull for the AFL grand final.

The Real Estate Institute of Victoria said that 72 per cent of the 607 properties up for auction this week were sold.

After tracking down a large number of unreported auction results from last Saturday, the REIV has downgraded last weekend’s clearance rate from 70 per cent  to 67 per cent.

The outcome of 132 auctions from yesterday are still unknown, which may affect this week’s clearance rate as well.

In Footscray, the vendors of 2 Dawson Avenue saw the value of their double fronted weatherboard house rise
$200,000 in just over three years.

The three-bedroom property was bought for $411,000 in May 2007 and sold yesterday through Jas H Stephens for $611,000. It was quoted at $540,000 to $590,000 and declared on the market at $585,000.

A first home buyer beat an investor and two other would-be buyers at the fall of the hammer on  2/460  Middleborough Road in Blackburn. The double-storey, two-bedroom villa unit sold for $485,000 after hitting its reserve at $440,000.

Ray White quoted the property at more than $400,000.

The two-bedroom villa unit at 4/2-4 Simpson Street in Kew, one of a set of five, sold yesterday for $627,500 after being declared on the market at $620,000.

It was quoted at $500,000 to $550,000. Janet Spencer of Buyer Solutions, who was the under-bidder on the property, said a similar but unrenovated unit in the same set sold for $590,500 in August.

In Elwood, a two-way competition developed over 14 Ruskin Street after Hocking Stuart opened the auction of the three-bedroom Edwardian with a vendor bid of $1.05 million.

Declared on the market at $1.17 million, the property sold for $1.2 million after receiving about 25 bids. It was quoted at $1.05 to $1.15 million.

Six bidders fought over 1/42 Union Street in Brighton East, a renovated 1960s villa unit that sold for  $650,000.

Hodges said that two bidders went tit-for-tat at the auction after the property was declared on the market at $600,000. It was quoted at $490,000 to $550,000.

The three-bedroom unit at 1/32 Loller Street in Brighton attracted enough genuine interest to open at $700,000 and rise to $750,000 before passing in.

ResCom Real Estate said a later offer of $765,000 was received but the reserve was $830,000.

In Armadale, the six-bedroom house at 28 Seymour Avenue passed in at $3.25 million after attracting just one
genuine bid, according to buyer’s advocate Michael Ramsay.Marshall White, who quoted the property at $3.5 million-plus, sold the property through after-auction negotiations but the price was undisclosed.

Elsewhere at the top end, the five bedroom house at 23 Bevan Street in Balwyn also sold through after-auction
negotiations for $3.48 million. JPP Buyer Advocates said it attracted only one genuine bid at $3.15 million before passing in.

Jellis Craig had quoted it at $3.3 to $3.6 million.

Meanwhile, the latest update on the Consumer Affairs Victoria inspection operation staged lastweek is that the regulator found only some minor ‘‘technical breaches’’ by agents at the 30 auctions they observed, instead of  the 100 auctions reported by MarketWrap last week. 

‘‘The vast majority of the auctions visited were all conducted in the correct manner,’’ CAV director Dr Claire  Noone said.

According to a Melbourne Institute survey, only 36.2 per cent of households held no debt in the September quarter, the lowest since the series began in 2001.

With the ratio of household debt to disposable income at record levels, the figures have raised concerns that a growing number of consumers are living beyond their means.

Amid a debate over whether the country is in the grip of a property bubble, the survey also found the proportion of people who own their home outright had reached a five-year low of 37.5 per cent.

A research fellow at the Melbourne Institute, Edda Claus, said the high debt was ”worrying”, and households’ financial position had worsened in the quarter.

”The big danger would be if people lost their jobs. If they’re very highly indebted then things can go very bad very fast,” she said.

While a sharp fall in employment looks unlikely, separate figures from the Reserve Bank show the ratio of household debt to disposable income hit 159 per cent in the June quarter, the highest on record. The main reason is higher mortgage debt.

With economists tipping about 1.25 percentage points in interest rate rises by the end of next year, the most highly geared households could be vulnerable to a sharp increase in their repayments.

A senior economist at JP Morgan, Helen Kevans, said it appeared households were ”releveraging” to keep up with rising house prices.

”During the crisis there was little evidence that households actually deleveraged. Because we’ve taken on so much debt over the last few years then households are becoming much more sensitive to changes in interest rates,” she said.

Despite the increased debt concerns, Dr Claus said the strong labour market meant household debt was a potential problem rather than a pressing one.

”As long as people keep their jobs, it should be OK,” she said.

The latest prediction of an imminent interest rate rise came yesterday from CommBank’s chief economist, Michael Blythe.

He forecast a 0.25 percentage point move next month. Markets are betting there is a 60 per cent chance of such a move.

Predictions that house price growth won’t run as hot next year as it has in the past 12 months could provide breathing space for home and investment buyers but it may also mean they shouldn’t count on capital growth to bail them out if they buy badly.

”We’ve come through a strong cycle, particularly in Melbourne,” says the head of property research at Macquarie Bank, Rod Cornish. ”But growth over the next 12 months will be significantly slower than last year.”

The impact will be greatest in Melbourne, he predicts, because of the triple whammy of slowing immigration, lots of new housing and the hit to affordability from price rises so far.

”Melbourne, for the first time ever, is less affordable than Sydney,” he says, referring to how much income is required to meet the cost of housing in each city.

In Sydney, slowing immigration will also affect demand but prices haven’t run so far, for so long, and housing starts are only just above 30-year lows, he says.

Cornish says it is always important to make sure you pay a sensible price for property ”but in an environment where prices are not rising strongly, that’s more so”.

”A rise in the market isn’t going to correct for you if you do pay more than it’s worth,” he says.

However, a property investment adviser, Monique Wakelin, says property is a seven- to 10-year ownership proposition for most people and over that time frame you should come out in front, even if you pay a slight premium.

That said, buying well does allow investors to maximise return and it will put owner-occupiers in a home that suits both their budget and their needs.

”With an investor, it comes down to one question – how much capital growth can I buy for my money?” Wakelin says. This requires an unemotional, objective assessment of a property’s prospects.

For owner-occupiers, where and what depends on how much accommodation they need and their budget for that. Their decisions will be much more subjective.

The trick is when clients want to combine the two, she says – buying a home but with an eye to capital gain.

In this case, she asks them to assign a weight to each of those goals, with the caveat that the ratio can’t be 50:50.

If the client’s tilt is at least 60 per cent towards it being an investment (and therefore only 40 per cent on the scale as a home purchase), she’ll start showing them properties that may not appeal to their personal taste but which Wakelin Property Advisory ranks as being of ”investment grade”.

To pass, a property must have a history of consistently producing capital growth above the market average, Wakelin says.

Only about 5 per cent of the properties on the market at any one time pass muster.

For Wakelin, properties that sit two kilometres to 15 kilometres from the CBD in Melbourne, or up to 20 kilometres in Sydney, get a tick.

Single-frontage houses built between the 1880s and 1940s are good, particularly if they have shops, transport, schools and healthcare nearby. Access to major roads is also good; being on a main road is bad.

Major renovation required? No thanks. Apartments without parking are out, as are those less than 45 square metres to 50 square metres in size. High-rise is out.

Charming older units – with one or two bedrooms – are better than new ones because an even newer one will make your development look a bit shabby in just a few years’ time.

Cornish says people no longer want the most expensive or biggest house in the suburb.

”Developers are tuning in with that theme, starting to have more affordable product that’s not so large, with not quite the same level of fittings – perceiving that affordability is going to be a point that purchasers will look for,” he says.

Having found the right property, the next step in buying well is paying the right price.

Obtain the price history of your targeted property, or a similar one nearby, going back between 10 years and 15 years, Wakelin advises.

”As long as the trajectory and the history of growth in that property justifies it, as long as all the attributes of an investment-grade property are present, you can afford to pay a slight premium,” Wakelin says.

And you’ll know what a ”slight premium” is only after you’ve completed your research with a couple of months on the auction and sale trail, seeing what’s selling for how much and why.

Perhaps surprisingly, property author and consumer advocate Neil Jenman doesn’t see much wrong with owner-occupiers paying slightly over the odds for the right property, either.

Allow for expenses such as stamp duty and legal costs, set something aside for any unexpected repairs and think about worst-case scenarios such as time off work, he says. But then buy a property where you’ll be happy.

”Most people buy houses with their hearts and you should – if your wallet is OK,” Jenman says.

”If you love a house and you’re going to live in it a long time, it doesn’t matter if you pay a bit more – if you can afford it.”

Still, he says you can save money if you’re prepared to sacrifice ”prestige” or proximity and buy in a less-trendy suburb or travel a bit further to work to lower your repayments.

Key points

• Don’t assume every property will rise in price.
• Buy with a seven- to 10-year horizon.
• If you’re an owner-occupier, buy what you need, not what you want.
• If you’re an investor, buy without emotion.
• Research prices and desirable features before shopping.

It’s two months since Reserve Bank deputy governor Ric Battellino delivered a myth-busting speech that included an effective defence of the Australian housing market and the sustainability of the present level of household debt. Minack’s latest newsletter to clients seems to take direct aim at that Battellino speech, but doesn’t go as far as
Sydney academic Steve Keen’s Doomsday forecasting.

Minack produces plenty of evidence that Australian housing is expensive on any number of counts – and there’s no news in that for anyone looking for a home in the capital cities. That process of becoming expensive made housing a rewarding investment over the past decade, but Minack thinks being expensive will make it a poor performer in the years ahead – if we’re fortunate.

The Morgan Stanley economist says there are two potential pins that might pop the bubble. The first is Keen’s dire prediction of large-scale job losses, but Minack doesn’t think that’s likely in the foreseeable future. The second though is that the nation’s landlord class might realise en mass that they’re losing money and bail out.

Minack notes that bubbles more often pop than subside, but sometimes the less dramatic path is followed.

”Sydney, for example, has seen two periods – from late 1980s and from 2004 – where inflation-adjusted house prices were flat or declined,” he writes. And we’ve had a previous look at just that phenomenon of how an Aussie housing bubble deflates.

”This is a best-case outcome. Even so, it would make for a very unusual domestic cycle. Homeowners and investors are banking on steady increase in house prices. Flat or moderately declining nominal prices would presumably affect confidence and spending. Banks have relied on mortgage lending as their bread-and-butter. Growth will be structurally lower.

”Moreover, this underscores an obvious point: while we can debate the macro risks surrounding housing, it is likely to be a very poor investment given current valuations. House prices can – indeed, often do – show no growth in real terms for a very long period. To take an extreme example, real house prices in Melbourne did not surpass their 1891 peak until 2001. Buying a bubble is an extremely bad investment. I expect that the real returns on residential investment will be negative over the next decade.”

RBA’s early move

Minack reckons the RBA appreciates the risk of our housing bubble and that capping house prices was a key aim of RBA policy tightening earlier this year.

”Better to slowly deflate a bubble than to see it pop. If Australia could achieve a cycle where house prices are steady or see moderate nominal declines, while growing incomes at a trend 6 per cent growth rate, it could reduce the over-valuation and financial risks associated with excess debt,” Minack writes.

While appearing to welcome that policy aim, Minack says it was a major error by policy makers to let this bubble inflate in the first place.

”There is no value to society from rising house prices. It is simply a wealth transfer to existing owners from potential buyers. Pumping up house prices creates no more wealth than the RBA printing an extra six zeros on every piece of currency.

”’Worse, by increasing the leverage in the household sector and financial system, it increases the financial risks in the economy, as the last two years have demonstrated elsewhere. In short, there seems a strong case for policy-makers to aim to cap house prices.”

What Minack isn’t sure about is whether the large number of negative-carry property investors could create selling pressure if nominal house prices are flat for an extended period.

Hanging on

I’d argue that the Australian experience is that residential real estate owners, both owner occupiers and the landlord class, tend to hang on grimly as long as they can service the debt (i.e. unemployment remains relatively low) rather than facing up to the on-going financial drain. What Minack does, though, is debunk the real estate spruikers’ claim that “you can’t go wrong with bricks’n'mortar

”Australian Tax Office data confirm that residential investment is a poor investment: total rent has not covered total costs since FY2000 (the date the bubble started to inflate). In short, this is an investment that depends on capital gain for its payback.

”With net income not even covering interest charges, this is a classic Hyman Minsky Ponzi scheme. Ponzi owns the house, and he’s betting that house prices keep rising.

”Not only is the aggregate private rental market a loss-making affair, but a rising share of landlords are making rental losses. The percentage of landlords claiming a rental loss (that is, rent not covering interest and other costs) has increased from 50 per cent to 70 per cent over the past decade. It’s not just that there are more landlords, there are more loss-making landlords.

”This matters a lot. Much of the discussion on the residential market concentrates on owner-occupiers. But arguably property investors represent a significantly larger risk if they became widespread sellers of their loss-making investments.”

Middle-class exposure

A key part of the Battellino defence of household debt sustainability was simply that it tends to be the wealthy who have borrowed the most and therefore they can afford it, but that’s not the case when it comes to residential landlords, claims Minack.

”Certainly property investment is more prevalent at higher income scales. But it is simply wrong to assert that rental properties are largely owned by high-income households: losing on residential property investment is largely a middle-class affair.

”Only 3 per cent of all loss-making properties are owned by taxpayers with a taxable income of over $200,000. Taxpayers who earn $80,000 or less own 80 per cent of all loss-making properties.”

And there are a lot of residential property investors.

”Australia has become a nation of landlords: in 1988-89, 608,000 taxpayers reported rental income, by 2007-08 1,765,00 taxpayers did – 13.5% of the total. This clearly reflects the widespread belief that property is an excellent medium-term investment.

”Over the past decade property has been an excellent investment. But it is, in my view, extremely unwise to expect such gains to continue given current valuations. The investment fundamentals of housing have sharply deteriorated.”

There was a total of 519 auctions reported this weekend of which 354 sold and 165 were passed in, of those 93 were passed in on a vendors bid.

This weekend last year saw 504 auctions held and a clearance rate of
85 per cent; interestingly this weekend is almost a repeat of 2008 when there was 465 auctions and a clearance rate of 65 per cent.

Auction listings drop next weekend to just over 300 due to the Federal Election

The clearance rate this weekend is 67 percent, from a total of 467 reported auctions.

There was a total of 311 homes sold and 155 passed in, 97 of those on a vendors bid.

This weekend last year saw 424 auctions and a clearance rate of 85 per cent achieved.

The REIV expects around 580 auctions next weekend and then a drop to 320 on the weekend of the Federal Election.

Area Profile

Median Growth Trend

House Statistics

	Capital Growth in Median Prices
			Blairgowrie		Mornington Peninsula LGA
	period		% Change		% Change
	2010		12.7%		10.8%
	2009		5.9%		3.8%
	2008		10.8%		9.6%
	2007		11.4%		6.7%
	2006		12.9%		8.6%

	recent median sale prices
			Blairgowrie		Mornington Peninsula LGA
	period		median price		median price
	June 2010		$ 667,500		$ 475,000
	May 2010		$ 600,000		$ 447,500
	April 2010		$ 491,000		$ 460,000
	March 2010		$ 605,000		$ 452,250
	February 2010		$ 575,000		$ 459,475
	January 2010		$ 582,000		$ 471,000
	December 2009		$ 520,000		$ 465,000
	November 2009		$ 577,500		$ 445,000
	October 2009		$ 505,000		$ 440,000
	September 2009		$ 595,000		$ 420,000
	August 2009		$ 612,500		$ 430,000
	July 2009		$ 547,500		$ 416,000

	Capital Growth in Median Prices
			Blairgowrie		Mornington Peninsula LGA
	period		% Change		% Change
	2010		35.6%		12.3%
	2009		8.5%		6.0%
	2008		-		1.1%
	2007		-		13.5%
	2006		15.4%		4.0%

	recent median sale prices
			Blairgowrie		Mornington Peninsula LGA
	period		median price		median price
	June 2010		$ 360,000		$ 383,500
	May 2010		$ 875,000		$ 326,000
	April 2010		$ 875,000		$ 370,000
	March 2010		$ 875,000		$ 369,000
	February 2010		$ 640,000		$ 347,500
	January 2010		$ 345,000		$ 352,500
	December 2009		$ 347,502		$ 360,000
	November 2009		$ 347,502		$ 339,500
	October 2009		$ 347,502		$ 347,500
	September 2009		$ 347,502		$ 295,000
	August 2009		$ 390,000		$ 320,000
	July 2009		$ 390,000		$ 320,000