1880 Land Boom
As shown in the "Real Median Melbourne House Prices" chart above, around 1888-89, housing values rose to $300,000, a pricing point that was never reached again until after the 21st century.
During this time land values in some parts of Central Melbourne rose as high as those in central London, and the aggregate level of new building activity in the city increased by more than 50%. Land boomed between 1880 and 1890, with surplus government revenue and buoyant optimism creating great progress for the metropolis of Melbourne. Where previously in the city three or four story office blocks had been the highest buildings, virtually overnight eight and nine story buildings were built by private enterprise. |
As the land boom reached its peak, speculation on property and land became a mania. Buyers and sellers of share scrip in the many upstart land banks and mortgage companies jostled for space under the verandah of the Melbourne Exchange. Lured by free railway passes, eager speculators rode out to new estates on the suburban frontier, where they joined the crowds of other eager speculators consuming the vendors' free chicken and champagne before bidding got under way.
Data & Photo Source: ABS, Butlin, Stapleton; Morgan Stanley Research
References
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Regional Population Growth, Greater Melbourne, Australia, 2014. Accessed January 29, 2016. http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs%40.nsf/mf/3218.0
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Regional Population Growth, Greater Melbourne, Australia, 2014. Accessed January 29, 2016. http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs%40.nsf/mf/3218.0