Sought-after Melbourne suburbs where house prices have plunged

The Age

26-04-2025

'The buyer pool, where there is a median over $4 million, is quite shallow,' he said. 'But this time last year, we saw the affordable end of the market lead, and opportunistic buyers will take advantage of the price drops that we have seen at the top end.
'The supply and demand imbalance, in terms of the number of listings on the market, still leans towards a buyer's market.
'We have seen buyer confidence lift since that first rate cut, and as rates fall over the course of the year, there will be a level of buyers coming back into the market.'
In Toorak, property developer and former Melbourne Grand Prix boss Paul Little sold Coonac in February for a sum that whispers placed between $115 million to $150 million. At the lower end, it sets a state record. At $150 million, it would be Australia's priciest house.
Last month on Toorak's Kenley Court, the sale of an older dwelling for a reported $13 million pushed the price per square-metre record in the suburb to $17,000.
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Buyers' agent David Morrell, director of Morrell and Koren, said the prestige market persisted.
'What we are not seeing is competitive stress above expectations, with the exception of Kenley Court - it's a triple-A block of land and they came out of the woodwork for it,' he said.
'The temperature of the market has certainly gone from a seller's market to a buyer's market, and what has bit into the marketplace on a broader spectrum is land tax in Victoria, which has really belted what we call the discretionary spend.
'That is down at the beach – people cannot afford $100,000 in land tax for a holiday house. That has stopped that market in its tracks.
'I would love it if Toorak has dropped 20 per cent, but it's just not happening.'
Marcus Chiminello, director at Marshall White in Stonnington, said Toorak, as a suburb, was a sought-after 'brand', and the most prevalent place in Victoria for off-market deals.
'It can only take one or two big sales results to grossly change the median price year-on-year,' said Chiminello, who also sells in South Yarra and Armadale.
'The market has plateaued over the past two years and has really normalised.
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'Whether it is $5 million or $50 million, we are seeing consistent transactions. If the market was falling, that would not be occurring.'
There are few postcodes in Australia where budget buyers can rub shoulders with bone fide rich listers.
Michael Gibson, director of Forbes Global Properties, who lists in the eastern suburbs and bayside, including Brighton, said Melbourne's premier neighbourhoods had this breadth and depth.
'Toorak is a fascinating suburb,' he said, 'You can still buy an apartment for $700,000 but you can also pay $70 million, and I would have thought that is pretty unique for any suburb, outside of a couple in Sydney.
'I think a lot of the data is driven around the lower end – these are sales where you can see the data, but the upper end is entirely different.
'We have had sales in the last six months of $40 million and just under $70 million, done quietly, off market.'