Melbourne’s suburban dream homes: Best homes of the ‘burbs
Forget the ritzy postcodes, wow-factor homes in the suburbs are giving pads in Melbourne’s blue-chip inner ‘burbs a run for their money. See the state’s most impressive dream homes.
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Wow-factor homes with no need for ritzy postcodes are giving many in Melbourne’s blue-chip inner ‘burbs a run for their money from the depths of suburbia.
Toorak and Hawthorn might be home to the city’s most powerful streets but, further out, quiet cul-de-sacs and sleepy stretches house some of the city’s most spectacular — and different — properties, built and owned by suburban success stories.
From Upper Ferntree Gully’s monolithic modern answer to Machu Picchu, an Eltham record breaker six years in the making, fairytale turrets in Hoppers Crossing and Miami glitz in Point Cook’s lavish Sanctuary Lakes — middle and outer Melbourne is doing plenty at the top end.
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Mount Waverley and Glen Waverley have gone from run-of-the-mill outer suburbs to faux-French-provincial-palace ground zero over the past decade, with gigantic new builds replacing brick veneers and knocking over the latest price benchmarks in constant rotation, too.
An ornately imposing pad at 51 Rose Ave, Glen Waverley became the monarch of the suburb’s starkly French stretch after setting a suburb record with its $4.975m sale in 2017. But its crown was taken last year by No. 19-21, which fetched a whopping $5.2m.
Land on one side of the street was sold off by neighbouring Wesley College as 11 vacant blocks in 2013, creating a boulevard of OTT mansions overlooking the bourgeoisie.
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Further out in the southeast, a sprawling almost 9ha Pakenham property packing its own private lake at 35 Leppitt Rd smashed the suburb price record last year only for the buyer to be unable to settle.
The mega $5.5m price was more than three times the previous benchmark of $1.769m. It remains on the market for $5-$5.5m through Kay Charles’ Jeanine Presley, who said it was “a cut above” anything that had sold and “in a league of its own” locally.
Diagonally across metropolitan Melbourne, some might be surprised to find Greenvale has its share of expansive lot sizes like private parks — and in some cases vineyards — too.
The 2.04ha property at 100 Bonds Lane has sat among the suburb’s most expensive since notching a $4.275m sale in 2009, according to CoreLogic, with only a couple of homes selling for more since.
Named Tara, the old-world estate greets with a grand entrance foyer complete with curving staircase, traditional billiards room, and pool, spa and tennis court out the back.
In Watsonia North lies a Federation-style stunner that “rivals the standard and quality of similar homes in the inner city” by oozing period charm, despite being just 20 years old, according to listing agent Joe Torzillo of Ray White Bundoora.
Mr Torzillo said seven buyers were already “lined up” to privately tour the “standout” tri-level house at 7 Binnak Drive, which has a $1.65-$1.75m price guide, as soon as Melbourne’s ban on physical house inspections was lifted.
Vendors Michael and Annitta Eliopoulos spent two and a half years building the residence to comprise four bedrooms, multiple living spaces, an indoor-outdoor pool and alfresco terrace,
a basement gym, and “timeless character”. The latter is evident in leadlight glass, 3m-high decorative ceilings, blue gum floors, ornate fireplaces, and handcrafted cedar window frames and doors.
Mr Eliopoulos was hands on during the passion project, which he opted to build in Melbourne’s middle northeast because “to buy land or build anything of this sort in the inner city would cost at least double the amount of money, maybe triple”.
Meanwhile, an alluring tranquil oasis hides among the gum trees of the leafy east at 20-24 Masons Road, Blackburn. It last sold for $3.55m in 2014, a figure only topped since by a single development site.
Refined country-style elegance is on show at the understated beauty, close to Blackburn Lake Sanctuary in the suburb’s sought-after Bellbird estate.
And views don’t get any better than what some have in Frankston South. The best of what the traditional battler ‘burb’s posh cousin has on offer is on show at the clifftop 6 Yamala Drive.
From Keilor to Bundoora, Watsonia North to Doncaster, Ringwood to Mitcham, and Box Hill South to Bulleen, we’ve stumbled across some of the best homes of the ‘burbs.
Check them out below.
– with Samantha Landy
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THE BEST HOMES OF THE ‘BURBS
8 Olivette Avenue, Upper Ferntree Gully
For sale $2.3-$2.5m
36-38 South Valley Road, Park Orchards
For sale $4.4.4m
11 Pelican Point Road, Point Cook (Sanctuary Lakes)
Sold $2.43m, August 2019
21 Greg Norman Drive, Point Cook (Sanctuary Lakes)
$2.655m, December 2017
19-21 Ashley Avenue, Hoppers Crossing
Sold $2.25m in 2018 (didn’t settle), then $1.6m Feb 2019
43 The Highway, Mount Waverley
Sold $4.3m, February 2019
51 Rose Ave, Glen Waverley
Sold $4.975m, May 2017
30 Watson Rise, Keilor
Sold $3.17m, April 2019
7 Borrell Street, Keilor
Sold $5.605m, December 2017
65 Alwyn Street, Mitcham
Sold $2.225m, February 2019
35 Leppitt Road, Pakenham
Sold $5.5m, April 2019 (didn’t settle). For sale $5-$5.5m
24 Quamby Road, Ringwood North
Sold $2.05m, March 2016
31 Panorama Avenue, Ringwood North
Sold $2.41m, March 2017
236-240 Tindals Road, Warrandyte
Sold $4.3m November 2018
17 Kyrenia Court, Warrandyte
Sold $3.35m, August 2016
6 Yamala Drive, Frankston South
Sold $4.35m, August 2017
9 Verona Street, Box Hill South
Sold $2.73m, March 2017
10 Fowler Street, Box Hill South
Sold $2,588,889 November 2019
100 Bonds Lane, Greenvale
Sold $4.275m, July 2009
20-24 Masons Road, Blackburn
Sold $3.55m, October 2014
28 Lindsay Avenue, Nunawading
Sold $1.95m, December 2017
55 Rocklea Road, Bulleen
Sold $3.128m, November 2019
7 Ilma Court, Bulleen
Sold $3.03m, August 2019
21 Hampshire Road, Doncaster
Sold $2.9m June 2019
15-17 Kelty Terrace, Bundoora
Sold $2.35m, February 2020
10 Kent Hughes Road, Eltham
Sold $3.7m, August 2019
7 Binnak Drive, Watsonia North
For sale $1.65-$1.75m
