Point Cook, Berwick, Pakenham our biggest magnets for movers
Removalist trucks are rolling into four Melbourne suburbs more than any others across the nation, with new research also shining a light on the preferences of Melburnians when moving home.
More people are moving to Melbourne, Point Cook, Berwick and Pakenham than any other Australian suburbs.
The quartet has topped a national list identifying postcodes with the biggest influx of new residents since 2013, based on realestate.com.au analysis of data from Australia Post’s mail redirection service.
Full removalist trucks have also regularly been rolling into Brighton, Frankston, South Yarra, Mornington, Werribee and Richmond.
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The research also painted Melburnians as being passionately parochial about their neighbourhoods, with shifting homebuyers and tenants typically preferring to “stick to their local areas”, realestate.com.au chief economist Nerida Conisbee said.
Those moving to Melbourne (postcode 3000) most commonly came from Southbank, South Yarra and South Melbourne, and those to Point Cook, from Werribee, Tarneit and Altona Meadows.
Berwick’s biggest feeder suburbs were Narre Warren South, Narre Warren and Pakenham, Pakenham’s were Berwick, Officer and Narre Warren South, and Brighton’s were Brighton East, Elwood and Hampton.
“We talk a lot about tree changes, sea changes and the rest. But the reality is, upsizers, downsizers and first-home buyers tend to stay in their local area,” Ms Conisbee said.
“Often you build networks over time, whether it be family, friends, schooling, even down to your local doctor and shopping centre. Establishing your hairdresser can be a real pain.”
Ms Conisbee said greater Melbourne had been a migration hot spot due to its strong economy and jobs market, housing affordability compared to Sydney, and high levels of new development.
Barry Plant Point Cook agent Brent O’Leary said his suburb’s ever-expanding housing offering catered “for everyone”, with loyal locals and Indian and Chinese migrants big players in the property market.
“You’ve got top-end houses in the prestigious Sanctuary Lakes (estate), middle-level homes and then homes for first-home buyers at about that $500,000 level,” he said.
Its lifestyle lures included parks, gyms, multicultural eateries and access to the “Chadstone of the west”, Pacific Werribee Shopping Centre.
Anna Melamed said she’d “never heard” of Point Cook when friends suggested she and husband David consider moving there from Melbourne’s southeast.
They eventually did in 2011, after building a four-bedroom house, despite David initially being reluctant to “look across the (West Gate) bridge”.
Ms Melamed said the suburb had “changed immensely” since, and they’d come to love the “sense of community” that had allowed them to become close friends with their neighbours and for their kids Jordan, 4, and Liam, 18 months, to play safely on the street.
They’re now reluctantly selling their 32 Surrey Grove home, with a $690,000-$730,000 price guide, to move closer to family.
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TOP SUBURBS PEOPLE ARE MOVING TO
1. Melbourne: $475,000 median dwelling sale price / $512 median weekly rent
2. Point Cook: $628,000 / $410
3. Berwick: $665,000 / $400
4. Pakenham: $475,000 / $350
5. Brighton: $1.82m / $730
Followed by: Frankston, South Yarra, Mornington, Werribee, Richmond
Source: Realestate.com.au and Australia Post, for 2013-19
Originally published as Point Cook, Berwick, Pakenham our biggest magnets for movers