If you’re someone who has had an interest in the property market for any length of time, you’ll know that it wasn’t that long ago that a suburb with a median house price of a million dollars or more was considered to be a rarity. However, the growth in property prices in recent years has changed that perception, with some recent data from the REIV confirming just how common the million-dollar suburbs have become.
In fact, REIV figures show that at the end of the September quarter in 2017, more than 38 percent of Melbourne’s suburbs had a median house price of at least $1 million. Yes, 154 of Melbourne’s 402 suburbs recorded a median house price of $1 million or above. To put this figure in perspective, there were just 17 million-dollar suburbs in Melbourne in September 2007, just one decade ago.
Locating the million-dollar suburbs
According to the REIV, around 90 percent of the inner suburbs, (those within 10km of the CBD), have a million-dollar median house price, whilst close to 50 percent of the middle ring suburbs, (between 10 and 20km from the CBD), are also members of the million-dollar club.
Newest million-dollar suburbs
Data shows that in the twelve months to September 30 last year, the number of million-dollar suburbs grew from 110 to 144. The newest additions to the list ranged from Mordialloc in the south to Flemington in the west and Coburg in the north, so clearly this growth was not focused on one particular area.
Obviously, the effect of increased buyer demand through interstate and overseas migration, along with those looking to ensure their financial security through property investment, has seen the million-dollar price tag become more common a lot further out from the CBD. Indeed, back in 2007 when Melbourne only had 17 million-dollar suburbs, just 3 of those were outside the inner suburbs.
Another interesting factor has been the gentrification of areas that were once considered less than desirable addresses. Areas like Coburg, Brunswick and Collingwood are excellent examples of this.
The important thing to remember is that whilst overall trends like these can provide some indication of changing values in your area, they are not an accurate indicator of the increased value of individual properties. So, if you are considering selling, or you are just curious about how much more your property could be worth in the current market, it’s worth giving one of our team at Ian Reid’s Vendor Advocacy a call to discuss how to accurately measure this figure. In the meantime, why not get a FREE copy of our booklet, Fatal Real Estate Traps Exposed, to learn about some of the other ways to avoid expensive mistakes in your property dealings?
09/24/2024 
