Melbourne's million-dollar-club continues to grow: RP Data

There are 40 suburbs across Melbourne that have $1 million-plus median house prices, according to RP Data.

This is four more than last year and 18 more than recorded over the year to June 30, 2009.

Toorak, with 111 house sales during the financial year, ranked as the most expensive suburb according to the RP Data list, with a $2.4 million median price.

Toorak was the founding member of Melbourne's million-dollar club, when 10 years ago it recorded 174 house sales resulting in a median price of $1.05 million.

Deepdene was second priciest at $2.02 million – but from just 11 sales ranging from $1.55 million to $3.7 million.

Tim Lawless, national head of research at RP Data, says 10 of the 40 suburbs fell within the prestigious Boroondara Council region.

There were six of the suburbs in the Bayside Council area nd five in each of the Port Phillip and Stonnington precincts.

The remainder were distributed across Glen Eira (four), Banyule (three), Whitehorse (two), Melbourne (two), Darebin (one), Mornington Peninsula (one) and Moonee Valley (one).

New entrants to the list were Alphington ($1.07 million from 31 sales), Caulfield South ($1.03 million from 87 sales), Ivanhoe ($1 million from 83 sales) and South Melbourne ($1.01 million from 101 sales).

Given the list’s requirement for at least 10 sales over the 12-month period, some suburbs such as Kooyong don't show enough activity.

“Over the year to June 30, Kooyong has recorded only nine transactions and all except two of them were over the million-dollar mark,” Lawless notes in The Age.

Lawless notes statistics from the RP Data-Rismark home value index had the premium sector of the market slowing at a more rapid rate than other price segments.

Throughout the year to July, values across Melbourne's top 20% of suburbs dropped 9.8% compared with much smaller falls across the more affordable price segments.

“Next year it will be interesting to see how the million-dollar-club is fairing,” Lawless notes.

Australian Property Monitors recently indicated Sydney had 106 suburbs with median house prices of more than $1 million in the six months to July.