hs: property market may have seen the bottom?

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/melbourne-house-prices-bounce-back-up/story-fn7x8me2-1226249803469

THE property market is showing signs of a pulse.
After going into freefall last year, there are predictions it may have bottomed out.

House values shed $200 a day until last September, but the median house price rose 1.9 per cent to December.

Melbourne's median house price is now $550,000, up $10,000 in the last three months.

Real Estate Institute of Victoria figures show house prices have bounced back in suburbs including Kensington, Blackburn, Wantirna South, Balwyn and Mount Waverley.

The Real Estate Institute of Victoria's Robert Larocca said homeowners would be pleased.

"The ray of hope in it all is that it's not down ... I think that's the most important thing," he said.

"It is nowhere near the pulse that it had in 2010. And that is part of the story here, of course, because prices went up by 20 per cent in 2010 which, thankfully if you were in the market to buy a home, is not something that can last forever."

Mr Larocca said the concerns about the international economy meant it was no real surprise to see last year turn out as it did.

"One possible outcome is that it's bottomed out. But we are really going to have to wait and see what happens with the economy, because it's the primary determinant on the market at the moment," he said.

Experts predict the 2012 market will remain steady - a brighter prospect than that predicted by doomsayer US market experts, who have tipped a property crash in Australia.

Economist Harry Dent and real estate analyst Jordan Wirsz have both said that home values could crash by as much as 60 per cent.

Melbourne now has 34 suburbs with a median price of more than $1 million.

Outside Melbourne, house prices in Bendigo and Ballarat rose, but they dropped 2 per cent in Geelong.

The biggest comebacks - Sept to Dec 2011 quarter medians

1. Kew - $1,175,000 to $1,600,000. Increase of 36.2 per cent

2. Prahran - $875,000 to $997,500. Increase of 14 per cent

3. Kensington - $645,000 to $725,000. Increase of 12.4 per cent

4. Mornington - $460,000 to $510,000. Increase of 10.9 per cent

5. Port Melbourne - $830,000 to $911,000. Increase of 9.7 per cent

6. Balwyn North - $1,070,000 to $1,154,000. Increase of 7.9 per cent

7. Blackburn - $715,000 to $768,000. Increase of 7.4 per cent

8. Wantirna South - $520,000 to $556,000. Increase of 6.9 per cent

9. West Footscray - $485,000 to $515,000. Increase of 6.2 per cent

10. Mount Waverley - $706,000 to $740,000. Increase of 4.8 per cent.

*Source: REIV (Only suburbs with more than 30 recorded sales are included).