Some of Melbourne’s cheapest streets are offering prospective homeowners the chance to purchase a house for less than $400,000.
At the far end of the market, millionaires seeking homes could purchase properties next to business tycoons, sporting greats, and the super wealthy in Toorak’s St Georges Rd, Linlithgow Rd, and Hopetoun Rd, which happen to be Melbourne’s priciest streets.
A Ray White analysis has revealed both the cheapest and the most expensive streets across the city of Melbourne after analyzing sales data to determine the median value of homes on the city’s streets.
Homes of the Super Wealthy
Among those who purchased homes throughout the past year is crypto casino boss Ed Cravan, who paid more than $80 million for a home on St Georges Rd., as well as cricketing great Ricky Ponting, who purchased one for around $20 million at the end of 2023.
AFL star Chris Tarrant was also among those who purchased not just one, but two neighboring homes on St Georges Rd. for about $10 million.
Those looking for an upper-class home can find one mid-century style Toorok house at 58 Hopetoun Rd., which boasts a grand $58.5m-$64m price mark.
Homes Below $400,000 in Melbourne
A stark contrast to the million-dollar price points is seen in homes such as those on Laruso Lane in Wollert, where purchasing a home can cost only $392,500.
Property records show that one of the last homes to sell on Laruso Lane was the two-bedroom unit at number 35 for $370,000 in February 2023.
On Edith St. in Epping, the typical home costs around $398,000, and prospective buyers might be in luck with a two-bedroom unit for sale on the street in the range of $375,000-$410,000.
Senior analyst Atom Go Tian, from Ray White, shared that the city’s cheapest streets are fairly expensive when compared to other capital cities such as Darwin, where median street prices are around $100,000.
“Melbourne’s cheapest streets actually go from $400,000 so that was actually pretty surprising,” he said. “The cheapest streets, they’re farther away from the city, but there’s been a lot of development going on in those areas.”
Homes in Victoria Capital
Homes within the Victorian capital were ranked second for the most expensive streets, and second for the cheapest streets when compared to the rest of the nation’s capitals, which were trumped by those properties in Sydney in both instances.
Sherry Singh, a Harcourts Rate & Co sales specialist, said that there was a great deal of property development occurring in the Whittlesea areas, where the city’s most inexpensive streets are located, driving down prices.
“We have buyers come all the time… and they want to buy something under construction or off the plan where they can save a lot of money on the stamp duty,” Mr. Singh said.
He added that many young families are moving into the suburbs such as Wollert and Craigieburn because they are more affordable, and they feature a larger supply and newer infrastructure in the works.
Luxury Markets in Other Parts of Australia
However, at the other end of the spectrum, Mr. Go Tian said that Melbourne’s luxury market happened to be dominated by one suburb, unlike the rest of those in the nation’s major hubs. Of the top 10 big-budget streets, six were located in Toorak.
Matthew Cleverdon, a buyer’s agent, said it is no surprise that the most expensive streets in the city are concentrated in Toorak. He added that the mansions along the Portsea cliffs on Point Nepean Rd would be a contender, but they are tightly-held, multi-generational residences.
“Land sizes in Toorak are historically quite large,” Mr. Cleverdon said, and added: “When you’re buying that much land and that size of a home, it certainly comes with a price tag to match.”
Mr. Cleverdon went on to say that homeowners who take pride in their residence, even down to maintaining their nature strips, are what ultimately make a sought-after street.
