The Real Estate Guide

East Melbourne abuts Melbourne’s Central Business District a short 2KM stroll away. It is surrounded by parklands like Treasury Gardens and Fitzroy Gardens, open spaces like the Yarra Park with the Melbourne Cricket Ground and other major sporting and entertainment facilities are guaranteed to overwhelm. An early adopter of systematic road closures, East Melbourne is a haven for residents despite major road arteries bisecting it and the throng that regularly head to feature events.

The suburb is bounded by the city, Victoria Parade, Punt Road or Hoddle Street and Brunton Avenue in the South, and includes a special zone called Jolimont. Historical Parliament House and St. Patrick’s Cathedral are situated in the suburb. East Melbourne homes include some of the largest, oldest and most graceful Victorian home and terrace houses in the State. Property prices are constantly high due to the demand to live in this small 1.9 KM2 suburb – only 4330 residents – with its abundance of amenities and carefully preserved streetscapes. The median house price is around $1.2 million; units are typically about $425,000. The suburb has a larger proportion of residents in the 20 to 39 age bracket, most of whom are professionals who walk or tram to work.

Trams to the city run along Swan Street and Wellington Parade. Trains from nearby Richmond Station connect to the whole suburban rail network. Jolimont station also connects to the city and the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop. The suburb is endowed by excellent taxi coverage and north-south bus links.

East Melbourne is an important medical and hospital hub. The northern reaches include Freemasons Hospital and the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital. St. Vincent’s Hospital and St. Vincent’s Private Hospital are just across Victoria Parade. This cluster of hospitals is surrounded by specialist consulting rooms.
Planned developments include the adoption of a bicycle strategy that will see bike lanes along Welling Street, more bike parking facilities and special traffic lights for cyclists.

15 Kilometres south-east of Melbourne CBD lies McKinnon, essentially a dormitory suburb of some 5180 residents living within an area of 1.5km2. The suburb is fully-established mainly with modest 1930’s California bungalow-style homes and units. Recent years have seen a rapid growth of apartments in this predominantly white collar worker suburb.

Median house price is $795,000 and $623,000 for units (both well above the respective median prices and growth rates for the region). Adjacent suburbs include Ormond, Bentleigh, Murrumbeena and Brighton East.

The McKinnon railway station is at the heart of the very accessible suburb with regular services from Frankston to the city. Cars travel to Melbourne via Nepean highway or Dandenong Road taken about 30 minutes. A bus service runs between Oakleigh, Chadstone Shopping Centre and East Brighton.

The strip shopping centre at McKinnon has been in decline over the years due to the success of nearby Bentleigh Shopping centre and Southland Regional Shopping centre in Cheltenham. Local restaurants are beginning to emerge in McKinnon Road.

The well-regarded McKinnon Secondary College is located in McKinnon Road and runs courses for Years 7 through to Year 12.

Thirteen kilometres east and a 25 minute drive from the city, the leafy, hilly suburb of Balwyn North nestles between the Eastern Freeway, Belmore Road and Burke Road to the west. More popularly called ‘North Balwyn’ by its residents, this well-sought after residential suburb has generous land sizes with homes most of which were built between 1920 and 1950. Urban renewal is spilling over from neighbouring Balwyn and Kew East attracted by similar amenities but slightly lower property prices. This suburb mainly comprises a single house on a block. Median house price is about $860,000 compared with $485,000 for units. Greythorn is a zone within North Balwyn on its north-eastern border.

While Census statistic say that residents of the area are older than average, the profile is changing as more young professionals succumb to its visual appeals and amenities.

Freeway access to the city and all eastern and southern suburbs is a few minutes away. Regular trams to the city originate at Balwyn Road. Burke Road, the main north-south road link, has a bus service running to Ivanhoe.

Local shopping at North Balwyn Village and Greythorn cater for basic needs. Step up to wider choices at Balwyn strip shopping centre in Whitehorse Road Balwyn or Westfield Doncaster Shoppingtown a convenient 5 km away.

Educational facilities in Balwyn North and surrounding suburbs reinforce demand for property. Many residents have moved from other suburbs to live within the residential zone for the highly-regarded Balwyn High School. Marcellin College is just over the Freeway in Bullen Road. Tram commuting opens up schools and colleges in Kew but for most, it is a daily school run for Mum. Three primary schools within the suburb add to the schooling options.

Balwyn North has plenty of parks, sports ovals and is endowed with the new Boroondara Sports Complex and adjacent Leisure Centre off Belmore Road plus the multi-court Boroondara Tennis Centre in Bulleen Road.