Melbourne's golden miles, where the most money has been spent on trophy homes

Welcome to the streets paved with gold, where close to half a billion dollars worth of deluxe real estate has changed hands in the past year.

Domain data shows prestigious property sales in Melbourne’s top 20 streets alone totalled over $497 million during 12 months to May.

Sales of more than $3 million are the common definition of prestige properties in the city, according to agents.

A snapshot of sales above $3.1 million – five times Melbourne’s March median-house price $638,445 – reveals just how much money Melbourne’s elite are spending on trophy homes.

The rich list, which shows the number of sales by street between May 2014-2015, includes a string of “the usual suspects within the golden mile”, according to Domain chief economist Andrew Wilson.

“It’s the inherent cachet of a name – the suburb and then the street,” said Dr Wilson.

Kooyong Road in Toorak ranked top, turning over more than $42.8 million from nine sales in the year, with vendors including car racing legend Mark Skaife cashing in on the triple-A address.

The V8 Supercar great and his wife Toni offloaded their family home in March this year, post-auction, for a price understood to be above $3.9 million.

And a opulent $4.8 million dwelling – at number 149 – was turned over by agency Jellis Craig in March.

While the most money was splashed on Kooyong Road, property experts may argue that the finest Melbourne real estate is still on St Georges Road in Toorak, where the city-wide property price record of $24 million was set in 2010.

Buyer’s agent David Morrell, who handles off-market purchases for wealthy house hunters, said Kooyong Road is a busy street with a high number of transactions, but would not be considered the most luxe address in Toorak.

He named Albany and Irving Roads as having that honour, but said that most prestige transactions happen on the quiet and are never disclosed or recorded.

For example, Portsea hasn’t clocked any reported sales, but multimillion dollar transactions have slipped through off-market, Morrell said.

There are new entrants in the top-20 streets this year, including Beaconsfield Parade in Middle Park and Kooyong Road at the Armadale end.

Kay & Burton director Gowan Stubbings said these streets were “highly desired addresses” by Melbourne’s elite.

“When good homes at the top end become available, it’s more a case of people wanting them, rather than needing them,” he said.

Stubbings said Melbourne’s wealthiest, like vendors at all levels, have recently looked to take advantage of the buoyant market.

“They see other houses selling for great prices and think, ‘crikey, mine must be worth a good number’,” he said.

Wilson says the data is based on recent transactions and the nature of the prestige market means there is a low turnover volume, especially given the top-end has been relatively flat in recent years, after it went through a property boom in 2007.

But he says demand for top-tier addresses remains steady because the power of a street name is “self generating”.

“People aspire to that identity because it reflects their wealth. They reward themselves with a large luxury property in an area surrounded by other large luxury properties,” he said.

Celebrity addresses

Cricket icon and Moomba king Shane Warne is among the who’s-who to own real estate on Brighton’s ocean front Esplanade. The spin bowler and his ex-wife Simone lived in a mansion at number 102, among many other properties they have shifted between in the triple-A suburb.

Monomeath Avenue in Canterbury is nicknamed Monolith Avenue for its grand homes and influential residents. Pop star Kylie Minogue’s (pictured) parents have property here, as have blue-blood politicians and powerbrokers, including politician Andrew Peacock and then-wife Lady Susan Renouf, and former premier Sir Rupert Hamer.

On South Yarra’s Walsh Street is the landmark mansion Wavendon. Agents at Kay and Burton are confident that Wavendon, which was once owned by Hollywood director Fred Schepisi (pictured) and now belongs to prominent businessman Greg Hargrave of the Skilled Group, could break the $24 million Melbourne price record when it sells.

Clendon Road in Toorak is considered one of Melbourne’s finest addresses and is where Essendon Football Club Chairman and businessman Paul Little (pictured) calls home. His historic mansion, Coonac, might sell for upwards of $50 million, should it ever come on to the market, agents whisper.

On St Kilda Street in Brighton, which runs parallel to the bay, is the plush MasterChef compound. The modern, six bedroom home at number 323 is where the culinary title contenders, battling to impress chef George Calombaris (pictured), have lived during filming. An off shore investor bought it last year for a rumoured $5 million-plus.