Latest news with #REIV
Herald Sun
23-05-2025
- Business
- Herald Sun
Melbourne renter eyes Burwood East units as five per cent deposit scheme offers fresh hope
Kathryn Whiteley has been renting in Melbourne's eastern suburbs for years, but says the thought of owning a home has never felt closer, or more urgent, than it does now. The aspiring artist and retail worker said rising rents and cost-of-living pressures had made her long for stability, and the federal government's updated 5 per cent deposit scheme might finally offer her a way in. 'I'm on a fixed lease and my landlords have been lovely, but it's still not sustainable long term,' Ms Whiteley said. RELATED: REIV CEO Kelly Ryan announces shock departure Melb family's bold plan for six-figure rate cut win Elite Shrublands mansion gets eye-watering price cut 'At some point, something has to give.' Paying $434 a week in rent in Nunawading, below the median for her area, she said she'd reached a point where she was craving more than just temporary shelter. 'It's the emotional toll,' she said. 'You're always thinking, 'Will I have to move again? Can I afford the next increase?' You can't put roots down.' Ms Whiteley said the expanded federal government scheme, which allows eligible buyers to enter the market with a 5 per cent deposit and no lenders mortgage insurance, had made the idea of ownership feel real for the first time. 'And honestly, it feels like now or never,' she said. 'As a single person with no second income to lean on, this might be the only window I get.' Ms Whiteley has her sights set on a two-bedroom unit in Burwood East, drawn by its affordability, public transport access and proximity to shopping hubs. 'I've already looked into Burwood East,' she said. 'It's close to everything — transport, Coles, even Chadstone and Knox. It just makes sense.' Mortgage repayments for the most affordable units in the area could be significantly lower than her current rent. 'That would literally change my life,' she said. 'It would give me breathing room, mentally and financially.' A creative at heart, the aspiring artist said having her own space would be transformative, not just financially but personally. 'I've had to scale back a lot of the things I love,' Ms Whiteley said. 'If I had a place of my own, I could start creating again. It would be life-giving.' Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox. MORE: How Melb home sold $1m+ above expectations Melbourne ex-home of apocalyptic cult The Family for sale Golden Triangle oasis hits sweet spot for commuters
News.com.au
22-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Real Estate Institute of Victoria CEO Kelly Ryan announces shock departure
Real Estate Institute of Victoria chief executive Kelly Ryan has left the property industry group's top job almost exactly a year after stepping into the role. The former Netball Victoria boss joined the REIV as the group's first female CEO in May, 2024. Ms Ryan had also previously held roles leading operations for customer experiences at Marvel Stadium and had been chief marketing officer at the Western Bulldogs and helped set up the side's AFLW team. Ex-Netball Australia CEO Kelly Ryan named new Real Estate Institute of Victoria chief exec 'It has been a difficult decision to make as I have been fortunate to work with some incredibly talented people across the industry,' Ms Ryan said. 'However, the desire to pursue my own business interests has been an ambition for some time and the opportunity has now arisen to take advantage of this moment. I would like to thank the Board, staff and broader industry for supporting me across my time.' In a statement, the REIV said Ms Ryan had led with 'exceptional dedication, professionalism, and clarity of purpose'. They acknowledged her work in renewing their status as a Registered Training Organisation, helping to deliver a new Constitution and the relocation of their headquarters from Camberwell to Abbotsford. Just prior to Ms Ryan's appointment, the Institute bought a $10m new home in Abbotsford. It followed the $26m sale of their home of more than three decades at 335 Camberwell Rd, Camberwell, in 2023. Industry sources have indicated the industry body was grappling with Ms Ryan's departure earlier this week. The ex-chief executive initially indicated to journalists she would be attending a state budget lock up on behalf of the Institute this week — but did not attend. Reaction commentary wound up coming from REIV president Jacob Caine. Mr Caine has been appointed as interim chief executive and is taking a leave of absence from its Board to do so. The Institute's Vice President Sam Hatzistamatis will become president, having first been appointed to the Board in 2022. The REIV will seek a new chief executive in a nationwide hunt they say will 'commence shortly'.
News.com.au
11-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
REIV: Melbourne's best bang for buck suburbs revealed in median prices by the square metre
Melbourne's best value suburbs are a core of Dandenong Ranges hubs where big blocks have been shielded from development. While home prices in Narre Warren North routinely tip into multimillion-dollar ranges, the sprawling size of those houses means the median cost for a square metre of land is just under $400. The Real Estate Institute of Victoria figures show nearby Upwey is the next cheapest pocket at $810.5 a square metre, giving the area serious bang for buck contrasted with the wider Melbourne median at about $1550. PropTrack: See what your suburb will be worth in 2030 The city's most affordably suburbs were next, including Melton and Melton West. But the suburbs giving buyers the least amount of property for their purchase price are headed by inner-city hubs, with Richmond's typical house costing $6,569 a square metre. Toorak, home to the city's multimillion-dollar highest overall median house price, didn't even make the top 10 — thanks to its typically larger than average blocks of land. REIV president Jacob Caine said the huge variation in prices per square metre around the city reflected areas that best delivered for those seeking a cosmopolitan lifestyle. In Richmond, he said it was often less about what was under the roof and what was around the corner — with the hefty price for each metre a part of the premium needed to access these areas. Jellis Craig Richmond's Luke Schickerling said Richmond's position as Melbourne's highest price per square metre would have been influenced by a large number of its smallest homes being sold in the past year as investors stepped away from Victoria. But there were still plenty of people who saw value in the area for its easy access to the CBD and Melbourne's sporting precincts. Most recently he said most of those purchasing were usually familiar with the area and often empty nesters, though there had been rising demand from those relocating from overseas recently. Bell Real Estate director Elliot Bell said areas like Narre Warren North and Upwey were appealing more to families seeking value for money. 'A lot of the area is nearly impossible to subdivide as it's a green wedge zone,' Mr Bell said. 'A lot of the foothill suburbs, they are from Melbourne's inner north, Fitzroy, Brunswick and Northcote, and it's usually a younger crowd. And it's a lot of young families and professional couples.' The agent added that with very limited numbers of homes coming to the market in the area most of the time, the area often achieved solid growth — and rarely reflected the lows set by wider Melbourne housing markets. 'We've been telling people for years how good the value is in the area,' Mr Bell said. Property Home Base buyer's advocate Julie DeBondt-Barker said Narre Warren North was already showing up in a lot of the metrics investors look at, suggesting it was not only good value today — but could be primed for future growth. MELBOURNE'S BEST BANG FOR BUCK SUBURBS Narre Warren North — $399.8 Upwey — $810.5 Melton — $826.2 Melton West — $826.4 Montrose — $876.7 Melton South — $929.2 Broadmeadows — $972.8 Laverton — $991.8 St Albans — $1,000.0 Doveton — $1,036.3 All prices are median cost for a square metre MELBOURNE'S PRICIEST SUBURBS BY THE METRE Richmond — $6,569.1 Elwood — $6,337.2 Armadale — $6,168.4 Prahran — $5,449.7 Hawthorn — $5,247.3 Malvern — $5,183.6 Brunswick — $5,095.4 Canterbury — $5,000.0 Footscray — $4,806.8 Brighton — $4,777.3 All prices are median cost for a square metre SOURCE: REIV
News.com.au
10-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Shrinkflation in the suburbs, why Melb homebuyers are settling for paying more, getting less: REIV
Shrinkflation is hitting Melbourne's suburbs with the city's property sizes plunging even as prices have soared in the past decade. New figures from the Real Estate Institute of Victoria show the city's typical home has gone from a 640sq m block to just 595sq m since 2015. In that same timeline, the cost for each square metre of that land has risen by more than $450 to about $1550. Builders reveal housing crisis target fears as approvals plunge Real Estate Institute of Victoria president Jacob Caine said the numbers felt similar to what was happening to the chocolate bars he buys at his local shops. 'The reality is that whilst we are paying for more and getting less for our money across most sectors, housing is no exception to that rule and the bang for your buck is diminishing year on year,' Mr Caine said. It's also likely to get worse, with the prospect some parts of Melbourne could attract double-digit home price growth as interest rates fall and population rises — putting further pressure to squeeze more homes into high demand regions. 'It's becoming universally accepted that the only way we build an equitable and sustainable and affordable housing system in any developed city is by having a really strong proportion of medium density housing,' Mr Caine said. Housing shrinkflation is also hitting regional Victoria, with the REIV data that tracks sales over the first three months of this year and in the equivalent period of 2015, showing the typical 696sq m property outside of the metropolitan area has lost 26 sq m in a decade. Meanwhile the cost of that land has risen from $477 a square metre to a hefty $859. With Australian Bureau of Statistics data released this week showing Victoria approved about 56,000 new homes in the past year, close to 20,000 below the level needed to help address the affordability crisis, Mr Caine said rising population would be a further driver of housing shrinkflation. 'And I think people are adjusting their expectations; the Australian Dream has certainly evolved in a couple of directions — the new mantra is just getting somewhere to call your own, though it used to be the 600sq m block with a four-bedroom home,' he said. 'So it's now about what's inside the house. It's the home cinema and the work from home space.' Victoria's largest homebuilder, Metricon, has had a specialist arm for splitting blocks of land into two and building dual-occupancy homes since 2012 — and has recorded significant increases in activity in more recent years. Their dual occupancy sales manager Jarrod Sturdy said with state government policy implemented this year creating more certainty for those looking to subdivide, it was likely they would become 'a lot more popular'. To date, most of the activity is coming from existing homeowners looking to downsize in place and have a rental stream next door, or to accommodate grandparents. However, Mr Sturdy said a growing number were also seeing having two residences in the same place as a fairer way to have inheritances divided by their children. 'No one is wanting a yard to kick the footy around in … they want low-maintenance liveability,' he said. Most of the block splitting was occurring in Melbourne's middle ring, from Mt Waverley south to Bentleigh — though areas like Essendon and even Altona in the west could also see significant numbers of subdivisions. Property Home Base buyer's advocate Julie DeBondt-Barker confirmed that in the past 10 years there had been a significant shift in what buyers wanted. 'It used to be about having enough room for the kids to kick the footy, but with changes to a few things including TV shows showing homes perfectly staged, that is overriding the back yard,' she said. 'The other thing that's drastically changed is that parents are waking up to the fact that the kids don't kick the footy in the backyard any more. The kids want the extra gaming room — and parents are seeing that.' The buyer's agent said that in her experience, shrinkflation appeared to be homebuyer led, with many families now eyeing properties with bigger back yards as a place that would suit a granny flat and some even thinking about future subdivision potential. 'So the buyers are kind of driving it,' she said. And it's not just in the city's most affordable areas, with a series of Toorak blocks of land measuring just 122sq m attracting buyers despite asking prices at $1.15m. Rodney Morely boss Rodney Morely said he had recently sold such a sized plot at 33 Carters Ave, Toorak, to a developer planning to build what would likely become a $3.5m home on it. Two doors down, No. 37 is in the final stages of negotiations with another buyer — and the pair had attracted a range of interested groups ranging from builders to families wanting to get their kids into the nearby school. 'I would like to have another 50, they would sell, but they just don't come up that often,' Mr Morely said.
