Amid the negative media about the Melbourne housing market, the city’s median sale price actually rose last year, according to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria.

It says Melbourne’s house median rose 1.4% from $815,000 in 2017 to $826,500 in 2018. The figure was pulled up by booming outer suburbs like Mt Martha and Cranbourne North.

Melbourne’s unit median also increased – up 1.8% to $597,000. REIV president Robyn Waters says despite sluggish clearance rates, a 20% drop in sales and low confidence, vendors who sold homes achieved good prices in 2018.

“It might take you a bit longer to sell and you might have to put in a bit more effort,” she says. “But the big picture is showing house prices have increased slightly.”

Other research sources have different numbers for Melbourne house prices in 2018 – the realestate. com.au website says they fell 1.9%, while both Domain and SQM Research record a 3% decline. CoreLogic claimed a 9% decrease, a figure out of step with all other research sources.