Most popular Melbourne suburbs revealed for buyers: Where there are hundreds competing per home

Melbourne buyers looking to avoid hordes of competition have been handed a list of no-go zones, including one suburb where demand is off the scales.

PropTrack has revealed the Melbourne suburbs where there are hundreds of buyers competing for a listing. Picture: Adam Yip

Melbourne buyers looking to avoid hordes of competition have been handed a list of no-go zones as demand for property continues to outweigh supply heading into spring.

Exclusive PropTrack data shows the housing and unit markets across the city where there are hundreds of buyers competing for a single listing on realestate.com.au.

Sea change suburbs on the Mornington Peninsula were some of the most popular for houses, including Main Ridge — where there are 359 buyers eyeballing each listing on realestate.com.au — as well as Red Hill with 301 and Merricks North with 276.

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Mornington Peninsula buyer’s advocate Michael Sier attributed the influx of buyers inspecting each listing to a lack of homes for sale, with the majority looking for lifestyle properties and holiday homes.

“There’s more demand but very few properties for sale,” Mr Sier said.

However, he added that with investors starting to sell up due to land tax increases, there could be more options and a more balanced market come summer.

Main Ridge was the most popular suburb for houses, with 359 buyers competing for listings such as 1222 Mornington Flinders Rd.

Warrandyte South was also popular, with houses like 26 Delatite Court for sale.

Buyers looking in Belgrave South could find it tough to get a house such as 1 Mervyn Rd.

Melbourne’s southeast was also touted as a buyer hotspot, with suburbs such as Belgrave South, Belgrave Heights, Clematis and Glen Huntly attracting up to 315 views per house.

As for the unit market, Albert Park was the most popular with 175 prospective purchasers for each listing, followed by Gardenvale, 171, and Huntingdale, 157.

Buyer’s agent and Emily Wallace Buyer’s Advocate founder Emily Wallace said a lot of the current demand, particularly for units under $1m, was driven by first-home buyers wanting to escape the rental market.

Looking to avoid hordes of competition? Don’t go for the below suburbs. Picture: Alan Barber

“Most first-home buyers who have had a rental increase … it’s the final straw for them to exit the rental market,” Ms Wallace said.

“There’s also people moving not just from overseas, but a fair bit from interstate, mostly from Sydney and Canberra.”

She said the Albert Park market mostly comprised houses and very few units, which likely contributed to the high demand for units there.

2/105 Merton St, Albert Park, is one of few available units in the suburb, adding to the demand.

Huntingdale is popular among first-home buyers, who compete for units like 5/66 Greville St.

The buyer’s agent added that the age of first-home buyers was also getting younger compared to when the parents of Gen Zs and Millennials were breaking into the market.

“Instead of renting now and going into a forever home later, they’re breaking into stepping stone properties and they’ll have to make another purchase after that,” Ms Wallace said.

PropTrack economist Angus Moore said there had been a strong demand for the areas listed for years and that all of the available supply had been “soaked up”.

“There’s no evidence things are improving and the few properties that do come up for sale sell quickly because there is so much competition,” Mr Moore said.

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MELBOURNE’S MOST COMPETITIVE MARKETS

Rank, suburb, potential buyers per listing

HOUSES

1. Main Ridge, 359

2. Warrandyte South, 319

3. Belgrave South, 315

4. Red Hill, 301

5. Sherbrooke, 277

6. Merricks North, 276

7. Belgrave Heights, 276

8. Sassafras, 272

9. Clematis, 267

10. Glen Huntly, 266

UNITS

1. Albert Park, 175

2. Gardenvale, 171

3. Huntingdale, 157

4. Blackburn North, 157

5. Carlton North, 150

6. Heathmont, 147

7. Chelsea Heights, 144

8. Essendon West, 143

9. Caulfield East, 141

10. Vermont, 139

Source: PropTrack

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