Victoria, according to numbers from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, created nearly half of all new jobs in Australia in April. And it's generated more new jobs in the past 12 months than any other state except Queensland.

This, and a stack of other facts and figures, leads me to ask one of my recurring questions: Why is property so cheap in Melbourne?

Melbourne is the leading population growth city in Australia and the standard-bearer of a state economy that keeps performing solidly - as evidenced by the jobs growth figures. So why do Melbourne houses cost, on average, $170,000 less than Perth houses? Why does it cost significantly more to buy the typical house in Darwin and Canberra than it does in Melbourne? Why is Adelaide the only mainland capital city with real estate significantly cheaper than Melbourne? And why have property values grown more in Canberra, Brisbane and Perth in the past year?

It beats me. I think Melbourne is the most under-valued city in the nation. High population growth, high jobs growth, low residential vacancies, low supply of new dwellings - Melbourne values have to rise some time soon.