Mildura Property Market Update 1st Half of 2023
In Q1 2023, Mildura recorded a median house price of $432,000, and a median unit price of $302,500. This represents annual (Q1 2022 – Q1 2023) median minor price softening of -1.5% for houses and a price growth of 3.8% for units. That said on a quarterly (Q4 2022 – Q1 2023) basis median prices grew by 0.5% (house) and 4.3% (units). This suggests that cash rate hikes did translate in the market, however confidence has returned. Sales did decline by -26.8% (houses) and -37.8% (units) in the past 12 months, thus undersupply of stock. For those seeking a more affordable market, time is of the essence.
Average vendor discounts between Q1 2022 and Q1 2023 have rapidly shifted to a higher discount of -3.9% for houses and swung to a discount of -6.5% for units. Market conditions in Mildura have now shifted to favour buyers, as sellers are willing to accept below the initial listing price. Now is the time to buy.
House rental yields in Mildura was 4.9% in March 2023, significantly higher than Melbourne Metro (2.9%). This was paired with a 8.1% increase in median house rental price in the past 12 months to Q1 2023 (to $400 per week) and a 5.3% increase in the number of house rented (to 180 houses). Average days on the market declined by -4.3%, to a low 23 days in Q1 2023. The same pattern can be seen in the unit rental market, confirming a resilient rental market in Mildura.
4+ bedroom houses have provided investors with +15.4% rental growth annually, achieving a median rent of $450 per week.
Mildura recorded a vacancy rate of 1.0% in March 2022, which is slightly below Melbourne Metro’s 1.1% average. Vacancy rates Mildura saw slight spike in the last 6 months, potentially due to investors capitalising on a tight rental market. Yet it is still below the Real Estate Institute of Australia’s healthy benchmark of 3.0%. Thus, a conductive investment environment, even if confidence has returned to the market and property prices are normalising in the past quarter (Q4 2022 – Q1 2023).
