“The Mornington Peninsula is definitely a market that dominated the housing boom,” Owen said. “On average dwelling values rose 45 per cent higher in the peninsula,from trough to peak,much higher than Greater Melbourne which rose 17 per cent across all dwellings.”
Owen expected house values in the peninsula to remain above pre-pandemic levels once prices reach the bottom of the downturn.
Unit values,she said,were more varied in location. East Melbourne topped the list of the biggest 20 rises since 2020,and values rose in inner-city Kensington and Carlton as well as peninsula hotspots such as Rosebud.
East Melbourne values skyrocketed by 36 per cent to a median $816,908 by November 2022 and have not yet started to fall.
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“East Melbourne had a later upswing and that’s been driven by the return of overseas migration,” Owen said.
“But some of the units are still close to the coast,like Rosebud and Somerville,and it’s giving people the seaside lifestyle while they’re buying into a relatively affordable property.”
The Mornington Peninsula has always been popular but was inundated after the pandemic began,agents said.
Significant sales included a grand estate featuring a tennis court and soccer pitch inRed Hill South that fetched $26 million in March.
A record was set in 2021 when acliff-top mansion in Sorrento sold for $30 million. The home,known as Westbank,was reportedly snapped up by BGH Capital founding partner Ben Gray.
Many buyers were searching for a beautiful spot to spend lockdown,while others wanted somewhere to holiday while overseas travel was mostly banned.
“We were selling to five people at a time and having 80 through an open for inspection,” Kay&Burton Portsea director Liz Jensen said.“Now we’re selling to one person,maybe two.”
Jensen said fewer owners were listing their houses for sale,and Melbourne’s unseasonably cold weather in December had also taken its toll.
Most buyers were Melburnians,she said,and many who had looked during the pandemic,but not found what they wanted,were now returning.
“Some people have been in the market for two years and have now bought off market,” Jensen said. “They were competing all through the boom and couldn’t get a toe on anything let alone a foothold because of the competition.”
McEwing&Partners Mornington Peninsula director Dean Phillips said there had been a “ginormous rush to top-end properties” including those priced between $10 million and $20 million,but the market had since slowed as people returned to international travel for holidays.
Phillips said he expected a delayed kick-off to the summer market this year,amid rising interest rates and the rising cost of living.
“It should pick up by the end of January and last until May,” he said. “Come winter,I feel the market will change and normalise.”
Though the overall market was slower,those wanting to buy were still making a move quickly,with one home on the peninsula selling within an hour of being listed,Phillips said.
“It really depends on the property right now and finding the right buyer,” he said.
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