The top ten
Source: REIV
The most expensive suburb was East Melbourne, where the median was $2.6M. Deepdene was second on the list with a median of $2.5M and Toorak third at $2.2M. Toorak may have a median lower than that of East Melbourne and Deepdene, however it has a significantly higher volume of very high priced sales as well as the most expensive properties in the city.
Sales volume a key indicator
The list of million median suburbs is subject to a degree of volatility because some of the most exclusive suburbs have a very low turnover due to their small size. Deepdene for instance has only 846 occupied dwellings according to the census, whilst neighbouring Balwyn (which is also a million dollar suburb) has 4,889 occupied dwellings. Whilst this does not affect the sale prices or demand it is a statistical issue that is important to appreciate when reviewing the data.
North-eastern suburbs featuring more regularly
Million dollar sales have been a regular feature of the market for some time now in the inner eastern suburbs and over time there will be a gradual increase in the overall number. The north eastern suburbs is one area that is increasingly also seeing million dollar sales grow. In the list there is Eaglemont at $1.3M, Ivanhoe East at $1.27M, Ivanhoe at $1.02M and Alphington at $1.02M. These suburbs all have one locational feature in common; they have a frontage to the Yarra River.
Melbourne still has no suburbs with million medians for units, however the most expensive one in the year ending May, Malvern at $987,500 is very close to reaching that level.
