When it comes to buying a house in some of the nation’s most expensive suburbs, a multimillion-dollar budget may not stretch as far as you think.
That glamorous waterfront mansion you dream of buying when you hit the jackpot with lotto or a million-dollar idea may still be out of reach even if your bank balance jumps a few million dollars.
Instead, cashed-up buyers searching in top-priced suburbs – where typical houses sell for multimillion-dollar sums – may need to turn to a more humble abode to get into the market.
Here’s what you can expect to find for the median house price in some of the nation’s most expensive neighbourhoods.
In Bellevue Hill in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, house prices jumped a whopping 15.2 per cent last financial year, or more than $850,000, to a median of $6.45 million,
For that sort of money, you may be looking at the likes of a three-bedroom, original-condition house, such as this classic double-fronted Californian bungalow, which sold for $6.4 million in May.
Set on a 537-square-metre block, the single-storey cottage – on the market for the first time in more than half a century – was marketed as an exceptional opportunity for those looking to make their mark or build their dream home.
A newly renovated four-bedroom, three-bathroom house on a smaller 392-square-metre block also sold for $6.4 million back in February, though buyers would be hard-pressed to find a similar house at that price point now.
In nearby Vaucluse, where the median house price jumped $350,000 over the year to June, the typical house will set you back $5.75 million.
Recent sales at that price point have been slim, but a tightly-held six-bedroom house in the suburb sold for $5.7 million back in March.
The two-storey original-condition home offered exceptional scope for a renovation or rebuild, according to the listing.
The house is on a 556-square-metre block, which also had parking for four cars, and a swimming pool that had seen better days.
A Melbourne house hunter looking to get into Toorak would need to spend $4,612,500 just to buy into the suburb at the median house price.
But they could get a pretty nice home for that price if the sale of a three-bedroom, four-bathroom house on Tashinny Road earlier this year is anything to go by.
The four-storey home sits close to the train line on a 511 -square-metre block and has a home office, media room, a wine cellar and triple-car basement, among other features.
Toorak’s median house price climbed more than $110,000 or 2.5 per cent over the year to June.
On a budget of $3 million, which is Brighton’s median house price, buyers in the suburb are going to be looking at a home in need of work, said Halli Moore, director of Buxton Real Estate Brighton.
“You’re probably going to get a fixer-upper or something for land value. We’re selling properties for $3 million-plus, and people are pulling them down and putting new homes on them. You’re going to get something pretty basic, probably something on a 600-square-metre block. It won’t quite get you on the waterfront, but it will get you somewhere in reasonable proximity to Church Street and the shops.”
Back in May, he sold a four-bedroom house on a 422-square-metre block for $3.01 million, while earlier in the year, records show a four-bedroom 1920s character home on 885 square metres sold for $3 million.
In the Noosa suburb of Sunshine Beach, house prices have shot up almost $500,000 to a median of $2.2 million.
At that price point, once again, you’ll be looking at a home in need of some work, with this three-bedroom, one-bathroom house in the suburb selling for $2.1 million back in April.
The ’80s beach house on a 506-square-metre block was said to be one of the last of its generation on Depper Street, with investors told it was a rare opportunity to renovate, demolish or land bank close to Sunshine Beach Village.
Records show it last traded for $1.05 million in 2016.
Back in Sydney, Bronte buyers are facing a $4.66 million price tag for a median-priced property after values jumped more than $1.22 million over the year or 35.5 per cent.
A renovated three-bedroom, two-bathroom home in the suburb recently sold for $4.725 million – $65,000 above the suburb median. On a 214-square-metre block, the home is about a 10-minute walk from Bronte Beach and does not have water views.
Records show it last traded for $2.605 million in 2015.