Melbourne council areas with the most and least $1m homes
A third of Melbourne homes are now valued above $1m, with eight out of 10 residences in one council area surpassing the “intimidating number”. See the percentage in your region.
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A third of Melbourne homes are now valued above $1m, with eight out of 10 residences in one council area surpassing the “intimidating number”.
New CoreLogic research shows Bayside is home to the largest proportion of million-dollar dwellings – including houses, townhouses, units and apartments – in greater Melbourne, at 80 per cent.
Manningham, Nillumbik and Monash had the next most property millionaires, with 70 per cent worth seven-figure sums, while Boroondara, Whitehorse and Glen Eira were all above 60 per cent.
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But Stonnington – where you’ll find the city’s priciest suburb, Toorak, and priciest residence, Malvern’s $52.5m Stonington Mansion – just tipped over 44 per cent.
CoreLogic’s Eliza Owens said 34 per cent of all Melbourne homes were now valued at more than $1m, equating to 647,849 dwellings – and that volume would continue to increase.
“It’s a reflection of the rising values we’ve seen over the past year,” she said.
“Even though Melbourne has had a relatively low growth rate compared to some other capital cities, values are 15 per cent higher over 12 months.
“The typical house value in Melbourne is above $970,000. So you wouldn’t be far off half of all houses in Melbourne being valued above $1m.”
Half of all dwellings in Sydney are already worth seven-figure sums, while the proportion is 12.3 per cent in Brisbane and 8.6 per cent in Adelaide.
CoreLogic calculated the median estimated value of all residences in each city or region – not just those that had sold in the past year – to achieve the findings.
Ms Owens said the Melbourne regions with the most property millionaires generally mirrored the Covid-driven “retreat to lifestyle”, with coastal and leafy areas dominating the list.
And while the big percentages reflected how real estate could be a money maker for those in the market, they were no doubt “disheartening” for people trying to break in.
“Not only are they missing out on that growth, they’re potentially facing higher rents, which does create a great challenge to enter the market,” she said.
“A period of low interest rates that fuels property prices, like we’re in, tends to widen the wealth gap between those who own property and those who don’t.”
But the regions with the lowest volume of $1m homes – Wyndham, 2.5 per cent, Moorabool, 3.9 per cent, and Melton, 4 per cent – could offer opportunities for budding buyers, Ms Owens said.
Barry Plant Point Cook partner Ray Harb said the past year had brought an unprecedented volume of $1m sales in his patch in Wyndham, although many of those were concentrated in up-market estate Sanctuary Lakes.
The “pinnacle” of Point Cook – which features 24-hour monitored security, a golf course, a recreation centre, wetlands with picturesque walking tracks and increasingly “quality homes” with water frontage – notched its first $3m house sale this year at 19 Panorama Way.
But Mr Harb said the area still offered “great value for money” even at that level, compared to markets closer to the CBD, with a touch over $1m still buying you a four-bedroom house with a decent yard.
It’s a different story in The Agency Port Phillip partner Sam Hobbs’ market covering parts of Port Phillip and Glen Eira, where the figure typically affords a spacious apartment at best.
“A million dollars was a lot of money back when I started (selling in St Kilda and surrounds) about 12 years ago,” he said.
“You wouldn’t get a house here for that now, unless it was about to fall over – and even then, probably not.
“It's a popular area. The land sizes are decent, you have period houses and a great lifestyle, so there are sales routinely in the multi-millions around Elsternwick, St Kilda and St Kilda East.”
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Lifestyle-rich estate a Sanctuary
When Dean and Renae Meager bought into Point Cook’s prized Sanctuary Lakes estate five years ago, it was as if they had a crystal ball.
“We could see the potential of the area, the value proposition,” Mr Meager said.
The couple paid $745,000 for their four-bedroom house on a 651sq m block, with a park at the front and a view of the city skyline across wetlands at the back.
They’ve now listed that property at 59 Coastal Promenade – which they brought daughters
Evie, now almost 4, and Layla, 2, home to – for well above half a million dollars more, with a $1.29m-$1.39m price guide.
The Meagers renovated the two-storey home during that time, upgrading the kitchen, adding an office and a wine room, and landscaping the yard to feature an alfresco deck and a fire pit.
But they say the estate has grown enormously in value and infrastructure in that time, too.
“Even now, the area is still under-appreciated when you look at the amenities it provides,” Mr Meager said.
“It has the lakes, a golf course, walking tracks, and a recreation centre (with) a swimming pool we use for the girls’ swimming lessons and a gym we use regularly. The parks have been an absolute asset for us.”
His wife added: “It has a real community feel, we felt that during Covid. We had always wanted to live here for that resort sort of feel, too.”
Accessibility to the CBD and Geelong, where Mr Meager’s family lives, have also been big ticks for the family.
Lucky to live in family-friendly patch
Caroline and Tim Sharp consider themselves lucky to have broken into Melbourne’s inner-southeast housing market when they did.
The pair behind Sharp Building Innovations secured their first home – “a little, single-fronted weatherboard” – in Elsternwick in 2001, aged in their 20s.
Ms Sharp said she couldn't remember how much it cost, but “I do remember my dad being really angry we paid that much for a house”.
“We thought we got it for a good price,” she recalled.
“Definitely we were very lucky to have been able to enter the market at that time. This day and age, it’s really tough for first-home buyers.”
The couple have since crafted a few homes for themselves in the area, with Mr Sharp, a carpenter and registered builder, handling the construction side of things while his wife took charge of the fittings, fixtures and interior design.
They’ve just listed their latest home – a luxuriously renovated 1920s residence at 20 Bailey Ave – with a $2.9m-$3.19m price guide and a November 24 auction date.
“We completely gutted (the original house), reinstated the period features and (added) a modern two-storey extension,” Ms Sharp said. “It has a decent backyard with an outdoor entertaining area and a pool.
“With the location, in a cul-de-sac a hop, skip and jump from Caulfield Grammar (and) Ripponlea village, and the overall design, it makes for a really great family home.”
The Agency’s Sam Hobbs said the “showstopper” boasted a renovation of “unrivalled quality”.
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