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There’s been a lot said over the last few months about the changing property market. Late last year, talk of an inevitable crash was suggested by some. The overwhelming opinion in many quarters seemed to be that, after two years of boom conditions, it all had to end somewhere.

We’ve been thinking about this a lot recently as we hit the officially halfway point of 2016. So many people seemed so sure the market would tank – but that’s not what’s happened. Sure, there’s no denying that the market has changed, but those changes have been nowhere near as dramatic as some were predicting.

There are a few overarching trends contributing to these changing conditions. The pace has definitely slowed – transaction volume at the high end of the market is down significantly.  This has been driven as much by vendors as buyers. The federal election – which put negative gearing front and centre – has put a damper on some of the enthusiasm as buyers waited to see exactly what a change of government might mean for real estate. And then there’s the withdrawal of many Chinese buyers from the market. In late 2015 you could hardly go to an auction in some areas of Melbourne without seeing at least one international bidder – more, in many cases.  Changes in both Chinese and Australian rules for cross border investment have made it much more difficult for Chinese citizens to park money in Australian real estate and the number of active buyers has decreased significantly.

All of this has contributed to a market that’s been notably quieter than last year. But the remarkable thing is that many of our clients aren’t overly concerned about this turn of events. Indeed, everyone we’ve spoken to remains largely positive and confident of another strong spring. Like the headline says: a pause, not a crash.

What’s your take on the current state of Melbourne real estate?