Melbourne property prices are booming with million-dollar homes quickly becoming the new norm.
In the last 12 months, 26 suburbs across Victoria have seen their median prices cross the exclusive million-dollar barrier with the trend expected to continue.
According to data from Domain, 29 per cent of all suburbs now have a median house price of at least $1 million, and Melbourne’s median house price is almost $1.038 million.
In years gone by, million-dollar suburbs were exclusively located in the inner-city areas. Two decades ago, only Toorak had a median price of $1 million.
With increasing demand for larger blocks that allow people to work from home, the outer suburbs have seen a resurgence. The sharp increase in house values has also been enhanced by record-low interest rates and a lack of supply.
Of the suburbs entering the million-dollar club, Blairgowrie saw the biggest jump increasing in value by 58 per cent, taking the median house price to $1,505,000. Along with Blairgowrie, Jan Juc, Anglesea, Rye, McCrae and Lake Wendouree have all seen price increases of more than 30 per cent to reach the million dollar level.
Domain chief of research and economics Nicola Powell believes there is more emphasis on our homes than ever before, given how much time people are now spending in them.
“We’ve placed a greater emphasis on our homes because we’re spending more time in them,” Dr Powell said.
“It’s spurred on purchases, or it’s brought forward decisions.”
Nicola Powell said the million-dollar club now stretched across Melbourne as well as some regional areas, and many buyers have been forced to borrow more.
“We know that property prices have far outgrown wages growth,” Dr Powell said.
“Your average property price has changed so dramatically – it’s really illustrative of buyers leveraging much more.”
