Where are Victoria’s first-time house hunters heading?

• Housing stock to recover towards the year's end
• First home buyers are on the hunt for a bargan according to Andy Kerr of NAB
• Melbourne's west continues growth from strength to strength

With recurring lockdowns in the city, last year Melbourne was at the bottom of the pack in terms of first home buyers activity. But now the garden city is making a comeback according to data released by NAB.

NAB Executive Home Ownership, Andy Kerr explained that as well as lockdowns, affordability has impacted the Melbourne market and created challenges for first home buyers in particular.

However, Mr Kerr believes this is set to improve.

“Lockdowns across Sydney and Melbourne have had an impact but we anticipate seasonality to return when we usually see a lot more stock come onto the marketplace during spring,” said Mr Kerr.

“We are optimistic that as NSW and Victoria continue to open up in coming weeks as vaccination rates increase.”

“Listings particularly in Melbourne will surge towards the end of 2021.”

Andy Kerr, NAB Executive Home Ownership

With a promising end to the year approaching, where are first home buyers looking to purchase?

Mr Kerr believes first-time house hunters are keeping their eyes peeled for bargains.

“First-time buyers appear to be responding to price changes as our list of hotspots has changed significantly from June,” Mr Kerr said.

Melbourne’s top first home buyer hotspots in 2021

“The west of Melbourne continues to go from strength to strength and offers some great options for first home buyers,” Mr Kerr said.

“Preston has jumped out as a popular hotspot with nearby Northcote and Thornbury offering the best of Melbourne’s inner-north lifestyle.

What about the regions?