Apartments a gateway to Melbourne's premium suburbs

Date: 3 Apr 18

Buyers looking to enter Melbourne’s most exclusive suburbs can save millions by purchasing an apartment or apartment-MR.jpgunit rather than a house, new REIV data shows. 

In the last three months of 2017, buyers could secure an apartment in Toorak for $940,000 – less than a quarter of the suburb’s median house price of $4.6 million. 

Savings of more than $2.1 million were also possible for buyers who purchased an apartment rather than a house in the inner city suburb of Hawthorn, which has a median apartment price of $611,000. 

At $661,000 apartments were also the ideal entry point for buyers in Caulfield North which boasts a median house price of $2.4 million.

Million dollar savings were also possible for buyers purchasing an apartment in the upmarket suburbs of South Yarra, Brighton and Balwyn.  
 
REIV President Richard Simpson said apartments remain relatively affordably, even in many of the city’s most exclusive neighbourhoods.

“Apartments and units are ideal for buyers who don’t want to compromise on location or amenities, offering an entry point to many of Melbourne’s most expensive suburbs.”

“Apartments allow buyers to enter a multi-million dollar suburb for just a fraction of the price of houses in the same suburb.”

“While apartments typically don’t see the same level of growth as houses, the apartment market performed strongly last year with double-digit price increases across the city.”

“First homebuyers should certainly consider an apartment or unit as a way of getting into the property market, with the majority of Melbourne suburbs recording median apartment prices below the $600,000 barrier.”

“Smaller properties also allow buyers to build equity in their home and move up the property ladder.”

Mr Simpson added that apartments were also delivering dividends for investors with strong capital gains being recorded in a number of inner and middle ring suburbs, including Thomastown, Reservoir and Thornbury. 

“Larger apartments are certainly seeing some of the strongest growth across Melbourne while a car park continues to add significant value in inner city areas.”

 

SUBURBS WITH THE LARGEST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HOUSE AND UNIT MEDIAN
Suburb Median House Price Median Unit Price Difference
TOORAK $4,600,000 $940,000 $3,660,000
HAWTHORN $2,718,000 $611,000 $2,107,000
CAULFIELD NORTH $2,405,000 $661,000 $1,744,000
SOUTH YARRA $2,280,500 $608,000 $1,672,500
BALWYN $2,450,000 $820,000 $1,630,000
BRIGHTON $2,700,000 $1,085,000 $1,615,000
HAWTHORN EAST $2,130,000 $597,000 $1,533,000
CAMBERWELL $2,303,000 $790,000 $1,513,000
SURREY HILLS $2,285,000 $824,500 $1,460,500
KEW $2,150,000 $705,000 $1,445,000
GLEN IRIS $2,080,000 $680,000 $1,400,000
ESSENDON $1,715,000 $540,000 $1,175,000
PRAHRAN $1,550,000 $590,000 $960,000
HAMPTON $2,050,000 $1,102,930 $947,070
FITZROY NORTH $1,504,000 $645,000 $859,000
DONCASTER $1,405,000 $579,000 $826,000
RICHMOND $1,280,000 $495,000 $785,000
NORTHCOTE $1,350,000 $580,000 $770,000
BRUNSWICK $1,250,000 $513,500 $736,500
MOONEE PONDS $1,335,000 $650,000 $685,000
 
 
 TOP QUARTERLY GROWTH SUBURBS FOR UNITS/APARTMENTS
  Suburb Dec-17 Median Sep-17 Median Quarterly Change
1 CLAYTON $725,000 $470,000 54.3%
2 BRIGHTON EAST $1,255,000 $892,000 40.7%
3 SOUTH MELBOURNE $783,000 $572,500 36.8%
4 MOONEE PONDS $650,000 $505,000 28.7%
5 BENTLEIGH $1,112,500 $875,000 27.1%
6 CHELTENHAM $755,000 $600,000 25.8%
7 MELBOURNE $567,500 $463,500 22.4%
8 PRESTON $615,000 $505,000 21.8%
9 HIGHETT $815,000 $687,500 18.5%
10 MOUNT WAVERLEY $1,040,000 $895,000 16.2%
 
  
TOP ANNUAL GROWTH SUBURBS FOR UNITS/APARTMENTS
    Suburb Dec-17 Median Annual Change
1 THOMASTOWN $459,000 34.9%
2 RESERVOIR $585,000 28.0%
3 BRIGHTON $1,085,000 26.7%
4 THORNBURY $605,000 26.3%
5 GLEN IRIS $680,000 25.7%