Melbourne real estate: CoreLogic name best performing suburbs of 2019
Seaside suburbs starred as Melbourne waved goodbye to the downturn this year — and there’s just one suburb left with a median value below $400K. See our best performing postcodes.
Seaside suburbs starred as the Melbourne property market bounced back from a downturn this year, with St Kilda, Sandringham, Black Rock and Brighton leading the way.
CoreLogic’s latest Best of the Best report named St Kilda as 2019’s best performing market for houses in Melbourne — and Australia — with values soaring 19.6 per cent to a $1.58 million median.
It was followed by the Surrey Hills-Canterbury postcode (up 14.6 per cent to $2.51 million), St Kilda East (13.6 per cent to $1.36 million) and Prahran-Windsor (12.9 per cent to $1.56 million).
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On the unit front, Sandringham-Black Rock rose above all others with 18.6 per cent gains to a $846,381 median.
Hot on its heels were neighbouring Beaumaris (up 17.1 per cent to $1.02 million), then Mentone (16 per cent to $624,396) and Collingwood (15.2 per cent to $671,968).
More cash was splashed on houses in Brighton than any other Melbourne suburb in 2019, at $650.5 million, according to CoreLogic.
This placed the blue-chip suburb behind only Mosman ($851.8 million) nationally, but Brighton’s spend was down from $829.3 million last year.
House buyers also notably sunk $554.4 million in Glen Waverley and $546.9 million in Point Cook this year, while the annual spend on units was highest in the Melbourne CBD ($341.9 million) and Docklands ($223.7 million).
McGrath St Kilda principal Michael Townsend said his suburb — one of the markets hardest hit by the downturn that plagued Melbourne from late 2017 through to this May — had experienced a remarkable revival in the second half of the year.
He said it was buzzing with “a resurgence of hospitality venues” like the Hotel Esplanade, the Women’s Big Bash bringing cricket fans to Junction Oval in droves, and large-scale developments including Tim Gurner’s luxury Saint Moritz apartments and the announcement of a QT hotel for Fitzroy St.
“It’s hard to find a better recipe for lifestyle than bayside Melbourne,” he said.
The agent pointed to the $1.39 million sale of a “tired two-bedroom house on a small block … with no parking” at 9 Moodie Place, which followed 80 inspections and an auction involving six bidders.
The property last sold for $1.171 million just three and a half years ago, and the vendors hadn’t done any major renovation work.
“At the start of the year, it most likely would have sold for $1.2 million,” Mr Townsend said.
CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless said 2019 was a good year for higher-priced, waterside suburbs across the nation, with their success largely driven by the evergreen lifestyle perks they offered and the fact they had become more achievable during the downturn.
“Most of these were areas saw larger falls in values, so they became more affordable relative to their market peaks,” he said.
The CoreLogic report also shows Ardeer-Albion topped Melbourne for long-term house value growth, rising 9 per cent to a $642,184 median in five years.
Melbourne finished the year with just one suburb retaining a median house value below $400,000 — Melton at $383,748.
The next cheapest were nearby Kurunjang ($428,460) and Melton South ($430,283), then Millgrove ($441,261) and Frankston North ($451,777).
Maidstone was the most affordable suburb for houses within 10km of the city, but its $833,514 median was still above the citywide average.
Toorak remained the city’s priciest market, with the typical house worth $4.69 million.
Mr Lawless anticipated affordability would become more of an issue as Melbourne prices continued to grow in 2020.
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MELBOURNE’S 2019 PROPERTY MARKET STARS
Greatest annual median value growth
HOUSES
1. St Kilda: up 19.6% to $1.58m
2. Surrey Hills (West)-Canterbury: up 14.6% to $2.51m
3. St Kilda: up 13.6% to $1.36m
4. Prahran: up 12.9% to $1.56m
5. Kew: up 12.5% to $1.88m
UNITS
1. Sandringham-Black Rock: up 18.6% to $846,381
2. Beaumaris: up 17.1% to $1.02m
3. Mentone: up 16% to $624,396
4. Collingwood: up 15.2% to $671,988
5. Carrum-Patterson Lakes: up 14.3% to $673,768
Greatest five-year median value growth
HOUSE
1. Ardeer-Albion West: up 9% to $642,184
2. Whittlesea: up 8.6% to $628,935
3. Hoppers Crossing: up 8.5% to $513,480
4. Laverton: up 8.4% to $606,493
5. Melton region: up 8.4% to $404,497
UNITS
1. Carrum-Patterson Lakes: up 9.9% to $673,768
2. Meadow Heights: up 9.6% to $374,405
3. Moorabbin-Heatherton: up 9.4% to $656,985
4. Broadmeadows: up 9.4% to $379,086 / Wattle Glen-Diamond Creek: up 9.4% to $590,553 / Fawkner: up 9.4% to $479,928
5. Braybrook: up 9.2% to $560,244
Highest total value of sales*
HOUSES
1. Brighton: $650.5m from 232 sales
2. Glen Waverley: $554.37m from 424 sales
3. Point Cook: $546.91m from 839 sales
4. Toorak: $512.8m from 133 sales
5. Kew: $505.47m from 233 sales
UNITS
1. Melbourne: $341.92m from 645 sales
2. Docklands: $223.72m from 327 sales
3. Toorak: $203.57m from 125 sales
4. Southbank: $203.54m from 364 sales
5. St Kilda: $194.39m from 375 sales
Source: CoreLogic
*Value of sales data for the year to September 30
Originally published as Melbourne real estate: CoreLogic name best performing suburbs of 2019