THINKING about moving from the coast to the city? Or perhaps packing up and heading for the hills and into a retirement community?
If you're kept an eye on the property market for any length of time, you'll know it wasn't that long ago that a suburb with a median house price of a $1 million or more was a rarity.
But all that has changed in recent years, with recent figures from the Real Estate Institute of Victoria confirming how common million-dollar suburbs have become.
According to the REIV figures, at the end of the December quarter in 2017, more than 38 per cent of Melbourne's suburbs had a median house price of at least $1 million.
"Yes, 154 of Melbourne's 402 suburbs recorded a median house price of $1 million or above. To put this figure in perspective, there were just 17 million-dollar suburbs in Melbourne in December 2007, just one decade ago," said real estate expert Ben Reid from Ian Reid Vendor Associates.
So where are they?
"According to the REIV, around 90 per cent of the inner suburbs, (those within 10km of the CBD), have a million-dollar median house price, while close to half of the middle ring suburbs, (between 10 and 20km from the CBD), are also members of the million-dollar club," Mr Reid said.
Data shows that last year, the number of million-dollar suburbs grew from 110 to 144.
"The newest additions to the list ranged from Mordialloc in the south to Flemington in the west and Coburg in the north, so clearly this growth was not focused on one particular area," Mr Reid said.
"Obviously, the effect of increased buyer demand through interstate and overseas migration, along with those looking to ensure their financial security through property investment, has seen the million-dollar price tag become more common a lot further out from the CBD."
He said in 2007 when Melbourne only had 17 million-dollar suburbs, just three of those were outside the inner suburbs.
"Another interesting factor has been the gentrification of areas that were once considered less than desirable addresses. Areas like Coburg, Brunswick and Collingwood are excellent examples of this."
"The important thing to remember is that while overall trends like these can provide some indication of changing values in your area, they are not an accurate indicator of the increased value of individual properties."
If you are considering selling, or you are just curious about how much more your property could be worth in the current market, it's worth contacting a vendor advocate.
You can get a free booklet, Fatal Real Estate Traps Exposed, online at ianreid.com.au
