Melbourne stars in property transactions

Rapid recovery and rising house prices make Australian property a safe investment, it has been claimed.

The Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) revealed that the largest number of weekly transactions ever had been recorded in Melbourne last month where property sales accumulated over one billion AUD.

David Airey, president of the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA), said that it was reflective of the fact that Melbourne was a strong market in the country.

Furthermore, he added that in general, property prices were strong and continuing to grow and as such further increases were to be expected during this quarter.

"The property market in all Australian capital cities has had a rapid recovery from mid-2009 on, and noticeably in Melbourne and Sydney with property prices rising quite significantly over that six-month period," he said.

Mr Airey cited the recent news that nationwide the country had seen house prices go up by around 12 per cent in 2009 as a good reason to invest.

Meanwhile, the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that Australia saw a record number of arrivals and departures to the country last year.