Is Melbourne stealing Sydney’s real estate crown?

Sydney and Melbourne are at loggerheads in a lot of ways, and this can certainly be said for the cities' real estate markets. The latest figures seem to suggest that Sydney's crown could be under threat, as Melbourne property has posted some pretty impressive gains over recent weeks.

This could lead more investors to take a serious look at property in Brunswick, which is likely to be making the most of these recently improved conditions.

What's the evidence?

Results of the January 2016 CoreLogic RP Data Hedonic Home Value Index show the Victorian capital experience the strongest year-on-year rise in property prices at 11 per cent. While this might be only 0.5 per cent higher than Sydney, it does raise some interesting questions for the market as a whole.

"Over the past six months, the performance gap between Sydney and Melbourne is stark.," acknowledged CoreLogic RP Data Head of Research Tim Lawless.

"Sydney dwelling values have reduced by 0.6 per cent between July last year and the end of January 2016, compared with a three per cent rise across Melbourne dwelling values."

The Australian Bureau of Statistics' September quarter Residential Property Price Index has also shown strong increases in property values. Compared to a year earlier, values in the city were up 9.9 per cent.

Will it last?

Mr Lawless was keen to point that while Melbourne's results are impressive, the Victorian capital is still lagging behind its New South Wales counterpart in historical terms. He explained that during the height of the last period of growth, "there was a large separation between Sydney's housing market, which was streaking ahead", while Melbourne wasn't performing quite as well.

Only time will tell what the future has in store, but if you're hoping to take advantage of these improved conditions, then now is a good time to act. Get in touch with Ray White Brunswick for a closer look at what this popular suburb can offer.