Kingsville and Altona Meadows are among the most affordable suburbs to rent in Victoria during the September to December 2022 quarter, according to the latest CoreLogic data.
The 21st most affordable suburb for renting across the state, Kingsville’s rental units had a median value of $520,075 and a median weekly rent of $385.
At 27th place, Altona Meadows’ rental units had a median value of $496,340 and a median weekly rent of $389.
According to CoreLogic, nationwide property values hit a record decline of 8.4 per cent on January 7, from a peak in May 2022.
CoreLogic said this was due to record-breaking interest rate rises, along with inflationary pressures and high levels of household debt.
In 2022, property values in Melbourne decreased 5.1 per cent, with some of the steepest declines coming from suburbs with higher median values.
CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said that the stability of prices in the west was due to more affordable markets.
“It seems to be that homeowners or prospective buyers across that upper end of the market get more sensitive to changes in the environment like interest rates or credit tightening policies,” he said.
“A lot of these markets have seen pretty reasonable growth over the long term, it’s really just the last 12 months or so where we’ve seen this downward pressure.
“For that stock that is on the market it’s generally taking longer to sell and vendors are having to discount their prices by a larger margin.
CoreLogic research head Eliza Owen said demand from international visits in the west of Melbourne would have an impact on the rental market.
“On the one hand, returning overseas migration is likely to place continued demand on rental markets popular with overseas arrivals,” she said.
“On the flip side investor activity, and therefore rental supply, is not expected to pick up substantially in the year ahead.”
