Cade Lucas
The West Gate Freeway has served as a dividing line in the innerwest housing market according to quarterly data released by the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV).
Suburbs either side of the freeway experienced wildly different fortunes in the three months to September, no better exemplified than the two suburbs bearing the name Kingsville.
South Kingsville experienced a 19.7 per cent reduction in the median house sale price to $973,000, the biggest drop across either Hobsons Bay or Maribyrnong.
On the other side of the freeway, Kingsville rose by 17.6 per cent to $1.3 million, the biggest rise in the inner west.
It was a similar story in neighbouring suburbs on either side of the West Gate, with Spotswood dropping by 11 per cent to $1 million, while across the bridge, Yarraville rose by 8.6 per cent to $1.3 million and nearby Seddon by 8.4 per cent to $1.2 million.
Apart from the Maribyrnong side of the West Gate , much of the rest of the inner west experienced a downturn.
Footscray suffered an 11.1 per cent drop to $960,000, while prices in West Footscray (-8.6 per cent) and Maribyrnong (-6.2 per cent) also fell.
At the southern end, Williamstown fell 7.6 per cent to $1.3 million while Altona dropped by 8.5 per cent to $1.1 million and Seabrook by 5.9 per cent to 736,000.
The biggest outlier of all though was Braybrook, which bucked the trend of neighbouring suburbs in north-west Maribyrnong by rising 19.1 per cent to $766,000.
With Hobsons Bay experiencing the bulk of the downturn, sales consultant with Sweeny’s Estate Agents, Trent Borg, offered some reasons as to why.
“I have noticed more investors are selling,” said Mr Borg who is based in Altona.
“I have noticed a lot more of our landlords are selling largely due to recent tax laws ( in particular land tax ) and negative returns stemming from the current interest rates especially for those with mortgages on their properties,” he said.
“ I have also found a majority of my owners are selling for motivated reasons not related to money but to move on to their next stage of life.”
