Wealth in property

Property is a significant part of the Victorian economy and holds a large portion of the state’s overall wealth. This is documented every two years by the Victorian Valuer General as part of the rating process for every Victorian property. The values are established and allow municipal councils to determine properties rates and the State Government to set land tax liabilities. In 2012, the Valuer General found the combined value of the states’ 2.3 million residential properties was $1.083 trillion. This represented an 11 per cent increase on the $978 billion recorded in 2010 and was also the first time the trillion dollar mark had been passed. This is of course significantly higher than the value of all sales each year as only 4 to 5 per cent of all homes are sold every year. The residential sector had the highest combined value of all the types of property in Victoria. The commercial sector had the second highest value with the 147,000 properties recording a combined value of $148 billion. Their value increased by 9 per cent over two years. The commercial sector was followed by property in rural areas, which had a combined value of $97 billion following a 12 per cent increase since 2010. The segment with the least value was the 72,000 industrial properties whose total value increased by 7 per cent to 62 billion. This is not a reflection of the value of the sector to the state’s economy; rather it is reflection on the location of most industrialzoned properties and the fact that industrial property has a lower underlying value than residential and commercial.