Surprising amount it costs to buy a top-end home in Melbourne now

Do you have a home valued at $1.09 million or more? You might be richer than you think.

While Melbourne’s median dwelling value is about $772,000, including both houses and apartments, the cut-off to make it into the upper end of the market – the top 25 per cent of all property owners – is a home value of just $1.09 million, CoreLogic figures show.

This Greensborough home sold for $1.3 million in July, a price in Melbourne’s top quartile.Credit: Ray White Diamond Creek

The homes in the Melbourne market’s upper quartile span a wide range of values, though, from the $1.09 million mark to the recent Victorian record set for a Toorak mansion, variously thought to be $115 million, $135 million or reportedly as high as $150 million.

This result is partly due to the number of properties that make up the upper quartile, said CoreLogic head of Australian research Eliza Owen.

“The upper end of the market, or the upper quartile, which is the top 25 per cent of Melbourne’s house values, represents about 415,000 properties, so there is going to be a big value range within that,” she said.

And while property values of eight digits or more are within the same quartile as those valued at $1.09 million, they aren’t common.

“Some of the most popular stories on the property market are about the very high end and prestige but the reality is that they represent a very small proportion of the market, probably within the top 1 per cent of property values in Melbourne,” Owen said.

So, if not a luxury Toorak mansion, what sort of property changes hands in Melbourne at about the cut-off point of $1.09 million?

A two or three-bedroom, renovated house in Ringwood

In the eastern suburb of Ringwood, approximately 25 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD, there are options.

“You can get a really nice, recently renovated three-bedroom, two-bathroom house on a decent size block of land well and truly for that [$1.09 million],” said director of Noel Jones Ringwood, Brett Freeman.

“If you wanted to get to a four-bedroom house, you’re probably going to have to sacrifice a nicer property or land size or something like that,” he added.

Freeman said that the $1.1 million price point is about the cusp, with well-presented, four-bedroom homes going for a little over at around $1.2 million in the Ringwood, Ringwood East, Ringwood North, and Heathmont areas.

“Once you head over the other side of the Eastlink to Mitcham and Vermont – that’s quite a big price jump.”

A four-bedroom, ready-to-move-in home in the Frankston area

Approximately 43 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD, in the south-eastern, beachside suburb of Frankston, “you can easily get quite a good deal,” said John Lewis, director of Us Real Estate Frankston.

“You’ll buy a good four-bedroom home on a 600-square-metre block that is extremely neat and tidy for just on a million dollars, or even just under. There’s no maintenance required whatsoever, it’s ready to move in,” he said.

Lewis said that this applies not just to Frankston but also to the surrounding suburbs of Langwarrin, Seaford and Cranbourne.

While there is a lack of listings right now, he said that there are still great properties for sale, including a Frankston South four-bedroom, “immaculately presented home with an in-ground pool, single garage, on a 696-square-metre block for $1.05 million to $1.155 million”.

A fully renovated three-bedroom home in Greensborough

A budget slightly on either side of $1.09 million will typically buy you a fully renovated three-bedroom, one-bathroom home in the north-eastern suburb of Greensborough, approximately 17 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD, said director at Jellis Craig North East Group, Daniel O’Regan.

“The home will generally have a single living area and they often include a nice outdoor entertaining area, with a single garage on an allotment between 500 to 600 square metres,” he added.

Alternatively, O’Regan said that those with a similar budget but needing more space would be able to secure a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home with a double carport or garage that will need renovation.

“The trade-off for taking on a home that has older kitchens and bathrooms is they will often feature a second living area and a larger block of 600 to 800 square metres,” he said.

He said that there are a variety of options and high interest at this price point.

“The average number of bidders at auction has been just over three for homes in this price range with our agency,” he said.