Suburbs in Melbourne’s north, west tipped by real estate experts to take off in 2017

Carol Hanna and her fiance Saif Yousif have recently purchased a home in Thomastown.

MELBURNIANS planning on taking the property plunge in 2017 should go west or north, with St Albans, Fawkner and Lalor among the suburbs set to prosper.

This is the advice of the city’s real estate experts, who also say Melbourne’s middle ring is the best bet for homebuyers as it offers affordable buying, improving infrastructure and solid growth prospects.

Real Estate Institute of Victoria chief executive Geoff White’s 10 suburbs to watch, based on recent spikes in median house prices and buyer demand, are dominated by affordable postcodes northwest of the CBD.

He said Ardeer, St Albans and Kings Park were “poised for future growth” having enjoyed median house price rises between 15 and 23 per cent in 2016, while nearby Delahey boasted 20 per cent gains in the September quarter alone.

The ‘burbs also saw significant growth in their auction markets last year — Ardeer notched an 89 per cent clearance rate, Kings Park had a 313 per cent increase in auction sales and Delahey was up 63 per cent.

“Higher volumes of auctions means there’s more buyer competition on houses,” Mr White said.

He also picked Fawkner and Hadfield, as they offered affordable buying 12-13km from the CBD, and Hoppers Crossing off the back of a successful 2016.

Montmorency was set to benefit from buyers being priced out closer to the city and Mernda from the South Morang rail extension scheduled this year, he said.

Mr White said first-home buyer hot spot Frankston North also had good prospects, being affordable, close to the bay and boasting “one of the city’s best private sales markets” with homes selling in a median of just 21 days.

Advantage Property Consulting director Frank Valentic recommended targeting “areas that haven’t quite peaked yet”, which ruled out most inner suburbs.

“North and west just offer such value for money — you’re able to buy a house in Ardeer, Albion, Sunshine West half an hour from the CBD for $600,000 to $800,000,” he said.

He said Thomastown, Lalor, Fawkner, Maidstone, Deer Park and the Peninsula’s McCrae and Dromana were also primed to piggyback off the success of booming neighbouring suburbs.

Mr Valentic helped Carol Hanna and her fiance Saif Yousif buy their first home in Thomastown for $718,000 in November, picking the suburb for its affordability and relative closeness to the city.

“Prices are starting to get a little higher there, so we were keen to get in now,” Ms Hanna, 26, said.

Realestate.com.au figures show neighbouring Lalor experienced the biggest surge in buyer demand of all Melbourne suburbs in 2016 — boding well for 2017 — followed by Broadmeadows, Deer Park and Meadow Heights.

REA Group chief economist Nerida Conisbee said there was a “big push” from buyers seeking affordability in Melbourne.

-with Scott Carbines

samantha.landy@news.com.au

SUBURBS TO WATCH IN 2017*

NORTH OF THE CBD

Fawkner

Thomastown

Lalor

Mernda

Hadfield

Broadmeadows

Meadow Heights

SOUTH OF THE CBD

Frankston North

Dromana

McCrae

EAST OF THE CBD

Montmorency

WEST OF THE CBD

St Albans

Ardeer

Deer Park

Sunshine West

Hoppers Crossing

Kings Park

Delahey

Albion

Maidstone

*Based on recent price growth and buyer demand, and experts tips.

Sources: REIV, realestate.com.au, buyer’s advocates Frank Valentic