Whether they have incredible views or are close to the CBD, the beach, or both, Melbourne has some of the most desirable streets around and attracts some of the country’s wealthiest people.
But the Melbourne property market has been one of the strongest and most consistent performers over the last four decades despite having a lull last year thanks to Covid-19.
After recording a relatively soft upswing, where Melbourne housing values dwelling values were down -1.1% in January taking its peak to trough decline to -9.3%.
Both buyers and sellers are now back in the Melbourne property market as consumer confidence has picked up strongly, resulting in a higher number of property transactions, auction clearance rates are strong and prices are rising, keeping property prices in some of the more notorious parts of the city at all-time highs.
Here is a list of the top 10 Melbourne streets with jaw-dropping properties and eye-watering property prices that some of Australia’s wealthiest people call home.
The 10 most expensive streets in Melbourne
If you’re wondering where the city’s richest people are residing, here are the 10 richest streets in Melbourne based on the highest house sale prices for 2022.
| Street | Suburb | Highest sale price for 2022 | |
| 1 | St Georges road | Toorak | $80 million |
| 2 | Orrong Road | Toorak | $38.5 million |
| 3 | South Bank | Melbourne CBD | $35 million |
| 4 | Albany Road | Toorak | $28 million |
| 5 | Hampden Road | Armadale | $26.5 million |
| 6 | Callanans Road | Red Hill South | $26 million |
| 7 | Hopetoun Road | Toorak | $24 million |
| 8 | Linlithgow Road | Toorak | $16.28 million |
| 9 | Pardalote Rise | Red Hill South | $13.25 million |
| 10 | Irving Road | Toorak | $12.8 million |
Toorak dominates
Here are the top 10 most expensive suburbs based on median house prices for 2022.
| Street | Suburb | Median house price 2022 | |
| 1 | Grant Avenue | Toorak | $5,512,000 |
| 2 | Edzell Avenue | Toorak | $5,480,500 |
| 3 | Maxwell Court | Toorak | $5,451,000 |
| 4 | Buddle Drive | Toorak | $5,435,000 |
| 5 | Yarradale Road | Toorak | $5,410,000 |
| 6 | Scotsburn Grove | Toorak | $5,388,000 |
| 7 | Huntingfield Road | Toorak | $5,295,000 |
| 8 | Balfour Street | Toorak | $5,282,000 |
| 9 | Teringa Place | Toorak | $5,282,000 |
| 10 | Glenbervie Road | Toorak | $5,267,000 |
The inner-city suburb of Toorak, just 5km south-east of Melbourne’s CBD in the Stonnington local government area has been considered the city’s most affluent suburb for decades, so it’s unsurprising that it completely dominates Melbourne’s list.
Why is the suburb so rich?
Toorak is home to a wealth of smart leafy streets lined with mega-mansions where many high-end corporate juggernauts, entrepreneurs, and business people own a property.
These people are flocking to the local amenities, high-end schools, low crime rates and not to mention spectacular city views.
A 26-year-old cryptocurrency casino founder paid almost $38.5 million for a Toorak mansion on Orrong Road in March then doubled down on the upmarket Melbourne suburb and shattered records by spending another $80,000,088 to acquire a derelict mansion at 29-31 St Georges Road in August.
Meanwhile, a handful of apartments in South Bank by Beluah sold for a whopping sum.
The building’s sub-penthouse sold for $35 million while apartment 1 and apartment 2 sold for $30 million each.
Hampden Road in Armadale and two streets in Red Hill South, south-east of the city in the Mornington Peninsula, also made the list.
When it comes to median house prices, Toorak also dominates, with all of the suburb’s streets making the list of highest median house prices.
What next for Melbourne property prices in 2023?
After booming through 2020 and 2021, Melbourne housing values have fallen through 10 of the past 12 months, taking the cumulative decline to -7.1%.
But the rate of decline is now easing and I see that the Melbourne property market is going to reset in 2023.
Selling conditions have become more challenging, but auction clearance rates have opened the year firmly.
Moving forward, there will be a flight to quality and the various sectors of the Melbourne real estate market will be segmented, which is a more “normal” property market.
There is a clear flight to quality with A-grade homes and investment-grade properties still in short supply for the prevailing strong demand, but B-grade properties are taking longer to sell and informed buyers are avoiding C-grade properties.
This is creating a window of opportunity for homebuyers and property investors with a long-term perspective.
Sure, many discretionary buyers and sellers have left the market at present, but life will go on in the Victorian capital – people will get married, people will get divorced, families will have babies and many Melbournians are going to need to move house.
When they realise interest rates have dropped, and inflation is coming under control they will come back into the market with a vengeance.
This will create a property market RESET and the next property cycle will commence.
