BRUNSWICK East is the most difficult suburb in Melbourne to buy a house.

Frustrated buyers will find that with only four houses currently for sale, strong demand and an above-average ownership period are giving them headaches as they try to secure a rare house in the area.

Recent CoreLogic RP Data statistics show high demand in the tightly held suburb has caused the median house price to increase by 26.6 per cent in the past 12 months.

“We are in a hot market at the moment,” said Nelson Alexander partner Michael Fry.

“There is always good interest in the area and not enough supply.”

In the year ending November 30, only 2.1 per cent of houses in Brunswick East had been listed for sale — well-below the Melbourne average of 5.3 per cent.

People were also remaining in their homes longer, with houses owned for an average of 14.2 years, more than the metropolitan average of 11.8 years.

A two-bedroom terrace at 1 Sedgman St is one of only four Brunswick East houses currently listed for sale on realestate.com.au.

“The fact that there are so few houses on the market in the area shows why there are buyers constantly looking,” Mr Fry said.

A three-bedroom home at 6 Orari Ave sold for $1.2 million thanks to high interest in the area.

“That sale proved how many people were keen to get into that particular pocket,” Mr Fry said.

Ray White Brunswick director Jamil Allouche said the difficulties facing potential Brunswick East house buyers were forcing them to look at other avenues to get into the area.

“There is a definite stock shortage when it comes to houses,” Mr Allouche said.

“People are being forced to look at apartments as an alternative if they are determined to get into the area.”

Apartments are not rare in Brunswick East, but prices of large apartments have been pushed higher by those who cannot secure a house, he said.

A two-bedroom apartment at 6/211 Weston St sold recently for $720,000 — a price that was staggering for the vendor and agent.

“If I’m being honest I thought that property would go for around the $580,000 mark, and that’s around where the vendor’s reserve was,” Mr Allouche said.

“However, the auction just went off as there were people desperate to get into the area.”

The reasons people wanted to live in the area included the proximity to the CBD, bigger blocks and comparative affordability to neighbouring North Fitzroy and Carlton, he said.

Price growth and lack of opportunities were also forcing buyers to look slightly further afield, he said.

“People used to come in and say, ‘No, I only want a house in Brunswick East’,” Mr Allouche said.

“Now because of price or lack of properties they come in and say, ‘I want a house in Brunswick East but I’ll look in Brunswick and Brunswick West too’.”

As the most difficult suburbs to buy into, Brunswick East was followed by Carlton, Fairfield, Carlton North and Fitzroy North, with Clayton South, Mulgrave, Watsonia, Hughesdale and Carnegie rounding out the top 10.

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