Melbourne house prices: City’s top growth suburbs of 2024 revealed

Melbourne’s biggest boom ‘burbs have revelled in home prices jumping six figures since the start of 2024, defying the odds as sellers faced the toughest market since before the pandemic.

Houses in Tyabb on the Mornington Peninsula, Middle Park, Hawthorn East and Ivanhoe were the city’s biggest winners, notching surprising growth anywhere from $200,000-$445,000.

The data from PropTrack shows units in Ashwood, St Kilda West and Carlton also outperformed, with values jumping 20 per cent or more in the past 12 months — with Ashwood’s median climbing $230,000.

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Real Estate Institute of Victoria president Jacob Caine said that historically the family home market had been the most resilient against downturns as most people buying them were in their 40s and at the peak of their income earning years, which could explain continued growth in the city’s leafy east.

19 Wellington Rd, Tyabb - for herald sun real estate

19 Wellington Rd, Tyabb sold for $2.12m in October. Tyabb was the top growth suburb for 2024.

However, he noted that areas like Hawthorn and Hawthorn East had experienced mixed fortunes with agent feedback indicating there were homes in the same suburbs taking longer to sell and that had fairly stagnant prices, particularly those priced from $2m-$5m.

Kay & Burton executive director Scott Patterson said it was likely low sales numbers in the areas and consistent demand for family homes could have seen the median shift without significant value growth.

Mr Patterson added that he believed the top end of areas such as Canterbury and Kew would be next year’s market leaders after high demand from migrating and local Chinese buyers for top addresses like Sackville St in the past few months.

297 Beaconsfield Parade in Middle Park sold for a whopping $13.5m in October.

17 Ridge Rd, Oak Park - for herald sun real estate

17 Ridge Rd, Oak Park in May for $1.17m.

PropTrack economist Angus Moore noted that units had outperformed houses more broadly in Melbourne over the year, most likely as they offered more affordable price points and so had the scope to attract more buyers at a time when borrowing capacity had declined compared to past years.

Mr Caine said the units performing the best were mostly in lifestyle areas or suited to downsizer markets, and it was likely the release of new high-end apartments intended for retirees in areas like Carlton had been responsible for median values rising there.

“You have a number of sales for off-the-plan apartments at those $1m and $1.5m-plus prices, but there’s not a lot of apartments between that and the student accommodation at $255,000,” he said.

Mr Moore said the success of Tyabb and Bittern on the Mornington Peninsula was “surprising” given the wider region’s median home price declines.

59 Studley Rd, Ivanhoe - for herald sun real estate

59 Studley Rd, Ivanhoe sold in November for $6.124m.

However, Harcourts Hastings boss Jason Dowler said the two areas had benefited as reduced borrowing capacity concentrated buyers on the two affordable pockets, and that both suburbs had very of their affordable homes listed in 2024 — likely influencing their growth figures.

“But there’s a lot of middle-class people selling out of the $1m-$2m range, and people in higher brackets are not feeling things as much,” Mr Dowler said.

However, he noted that he expected home values in the area to perform better in the new year.

Mr Moore said that in 2025 affordability would remain a headwind, with the Reserve Bank only likely to make modest cuts to the nation’s interest rates.

“But affordability will continue to be strained and that could favour more affordable parts of the market, though there will probably be a range of outcomes,” he said.