Where home values have soared in Melbourne in past 30 years

Homeowners in beachside St Kilda West and Portsea have reaped the biggest rewards across Melbourne over the last 30 years, with houses growing in value by more than $2m.

Houses in St Kilda West had added an extraordinary 1232 per cent to their worth to hit a $2.87m median price by the end of 2020, new data from mortgage broker Aussie and CoreLogic shows.

Portsea was hot on its heels, soaring 1201 per cent to $2.22m.

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A host of other Melbourne suburbs also increased by more than 1000 per cent, including Kingsville, Seddon and St Andrews Beach, where the median house prices all rose from humble beginnings below $93,000 in 1990 to exceed $1m by 2020.

Propertyology head of research Simon Pressley said Melbourne had been the nation’s “most consistent” capital city market since 1990.

Melbourne homes have outpaced Sydney, growing in value by almost 400 per cent in the past 30 years.

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Taylors Lakes, where this home at 8 Whiteley Parade is for sale, has had a lot of growth in recent years.

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“There have been two big booms, but also a couple of downturns (in that time). But the peaks and troughs in Melbourne are not as great as the other capital cities,” Mr Pressley said.

Across the board, Melbourne homes have outpaced those in the nation’s most expensive city, Sydney, growing in value by almost 400 per cent over the past 30 years.

The median dwelling price has risen from $141,160 in 1990 to $700,230 in 2020 — a jump of 396 per cent.

In the same period, that figure increased 384 per cent — from $180,014 in 1990 to $870,583 in 2020 — in Sydney.

Melbourne’s most expensive suburbs have remained relatively the same, with Toorak holding the top spot for a house at the end of each of the past three decades.

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By the end of 2020, a typical home in Toorak neared the $4m mark — about $1.5m higher than it was ten years prior — with Kooyong, Brighton and St Kilda West next in line.

Mr Pressley said while he couldn’t foresee how the post-COVID market would respond in Melbourne, it was likely it would become the most expensive market in the country at some point.

“I can’t see Melbourne prices surpassing Sydney in the next few years,” he said.

“Both Melbourne and Sydney have been the hardest hit by COVID and have a higher reliance on people from overseas. But I do think it’s inevitable.”

Unsurprisingly, Melbourne’s biggest property climb came after the Global Financial Crisis with values increasing almost 25 per cent in the year to April 2010.

At the end of that decade, the value of a dwelling in Melbourne had surged 130.2 per cent, before slowing to 42.6 in the past ten years.

Ray White Taylors Lakes principal Peter Travlos said families looking for more space were moving to the area.

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Katarina and John Waszaj spent less than $150,000 buying their first block of land in the Taylors Lakes area, in Melbourne’s northwest, 30 years ago.

They built a family home on the site in the ’90s and, 18 years later, upgraded to a bigger block and newer house at 8 Whiteley Parade, which they’re now selling to retire to Queensland.

Ms Waszaj said the home had been valued about the $1m mark — well above what they paid to build.

“We could build a beachfront property in Caloundra (if our home sells for that price),” she said.

“Our first block (in Taylors Lakes) would have been in the $120,000-150,000 range, if that, and our second block was about $200,000.”

Ray White Taylors Lakes principal Peter Travlos, who is selling the Waszajs’’ home, said he had seen interest in the area rise dramatically in the past three decades, with the price of land also soaring.

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Katarina and husband John Waszaj have lived in Taylors Lake for 30 years. Picture: Rob Leeson

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The couple said they loved the area but were moving interstate to be closer to their children.

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“Taylors Lakes has been very underrated for a long period of time,” he said.

“What’s made it excel in recent times is the family facilities, upgrades to parks and recreation and the infrastructure that the council is starting to put in around shopping centres and transportation.”

Aussie chief executive James Symond said property had “clearly been a standout performer” over the past 30 years.

“There is very strong evidence that there are high levels of equity in owner-occupied properties,” he said.

“(This is) building the wealth of owners, but also providing them with flexibility to invest, a buffer against headwinds in their lives and wealth to pass on their children.”

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LARGEST % INCREASE IN MEDIAN HOUSE VALUE

1990 to 2020

change in $ from 1990 to 2020 (% increase)

St Kilda West — $2,655,723 (1232.4%)

Portsea — $2,050,633 (1200.9%)

Flinders — $1,608,428 (1105.8%)

Kingsville — $955,157 (1101.5%)

Kooyong — $3,147,168 (1079.9%)

Alphington — $1,544,074 (1062.9%)

Seddon — $982,975 (1059.7%)

St Andrews Beach — $913,822 (1027.5%)

Northcote — $1,332,816 (1024.5%)

Red Hill South —$1,904,899 (1022.2%)

MOST EXPENSIVE SUBURBS TO BUY A HOUSE

by median

1990