Billions of dollars in property has been purchased without a mortgage in Melbourne’s most prestigious suburbs over the past financial year, new data shows. PEXA Group’s latest cash purchase data, to be released on Tuesday, shows that $1.05 billion in cash was spent on property in the Melbourne CBD, the highest dollar figure of any suburb in the state.
The city centre was also the suburb with the third-highest proportion of cash purchases at 51.8 per cent. Brighton and Toorak had the next most cash spent on property, at $735 million and $720 million, respectively.
Kew, South Yarra, Hawthorn, Glen Waverley and Balwyn were among the top 10 Victorian postcodes . PEXA chief economist Julie Toth said buyers in wealthier suburbs were less likely to need a mortgage, and in some cases could be getting the money to spend on property from family trusts, equity in other properties or even alternative financing arrangements. “It really just reflects the high purchasing prices,” she said.
“That’s largely because we’re seeing a small number of very high-value properties being purchased without an actual mortgage being raised on those purchases. “At that very top end, people do tend to have a greater range of finance sources they can access so it’s not showing up as a mortgage.” Morrell and Koren buyers’ agent Emma Bloom said wealthy buyers were side-stepping high interest rates to purchase with cash, and though the market was slow, it was because buyers were cautious.
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