‘Tremendous growth': Melbourne's prestige suburbs outperforming the rest

Sydney Morning Herald

14-06-2025

Prestige middle suburbs with leafy streets, good schools nearby and a strong community feel have boosted demand in Melbourne's property market, helping these areas outperform many inner-city neighbourhoods in price growth.
Among Melbourne suburbs that have a median house price above $2 million, Balwyn North recorded the highest growth in median house price across a five-year period to the end of March. It climbed 26.4 per cent to reach a median of $2.25 million, according to Domain data.
It was followed closely by neighbouring Surrey Hills, which grew 26.3 per cent to a median of $2,195,000. Rounding out the top five were Eaglemont (24.5 per cent), Hampton (24.4 per cent) and Black Rock (23.8 per cent).
Despite this growth, Ray White group chief economist Nerida Conisbee said Melbourne's prestige property sector has lagged other states.
'Luxury suburbs in some places like Perth have seen three or four times that rate of growth. South-east Queensland is quite similar. So even though Melbourne has seen growth, it's fairly lacklustre at the top end,' she said.
'Melbourne lost quite a few people to other parts of the country ... South-east Queensland in particular was the key beneficiary of population movement particularly amongst wealthier Melburnians.'
Still, middle-ring suburbs such as Balwyn North and Eaglemont have outshone inner-city postcodes including South Yarra and Brighton.
'Places like Balwyn, North Hawthorn, East Camberwell, Hawthorn all have really good access to some of Melbourne's best schools,' Conisbee said.