Booming Australian property market spells bad news for international students

Escalating house price in the Australian city of Melbourne, which is now at record levels, could spell bad news for the growing number of international students at universities and colleges.

Data released on Thursday from Domain Group's House Price Report showed that house prices in Melbourne jumped 14.5 percent in the past year to a record median price of 506,769 U.S. dollars (719,486 AUD).

The increase resulted in more prospective first home-buyers being forced into the rental market and that, in turn, had the effect of pumping up rental fees.

"One of the problems with first home buyers not being able to get into market is that a lot of them rent, and that then increases ... rental prices, and (that) prices a lot of people out of the rental market," Dr Carolyn Whitzman, a professor in urban planning at the University of Melbourne, told Fairfax Media.

The latest figures are an unwelcome development for the thousands of international students hoping to study in Melbourne, as rental accommodation becomes increasingly unaffordable.

The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicate that there are over 150,000 international students currently studying in Melbourne, and they primarily hail from China, India, South Korea and Malaysia.

The suburb of Caulfield in Melbourne's south-east, home to the city's second biggest campus - Monash University which has more international students than any other Australian university - recorded a median price growth of 23.5 percent.

Wilson predicted that house prices would grow another 5 percent in 2016, while Alan Oster, chief economist at National Australia Bank (NAB), told Fairfax on Thursday he expected growth of between 2 and 3 percent. Enditem