VIC How would you rate the following Melbourne surbubs….

Dear PCs,

How would you rate the following suburbs in terms of potential growth as well as affluence? I am after the best middle-class one that I can afford, live in and raise my kids.

Looking to purchase a PPOR in the following suburbs and have shortlisted the following ;

Wheelers Hill, Rowville, Nunawading, Wantirna, Wantirna South, Warranwood, Mulgrave, Lysterfield, Vermont, Berwick, Clyde North, Endeavour Hills.

I hold a couple of properties and want to upgrade my forever home….well for the next 13 years once my kids finish school.

TIA….

 

Wheelers Hill/Vermont, followed by Wantirna South, Wantirna and Berwick.

Some parts of Berwick are well over $1m too.

You've asked an open-ended question. How much can you afford, are schools priority or proximity to CBD/something higher in priority, townhouse/house, primary or secondary schools, preference to shopping/parks etc etc..

 

Start with the school/ school zone first. Then pick the suburb that’s not too far from school, then from places of work.

Your list is reasonable. They are all similar, although Westin’s ranking is appropriate. Wheelers Hill has some older large estates. So does Lysterfield mind you. Some of those suburbs are further from the city than others so also depends on where you work.

 

Rowville, Wantirna, Wantirna South, Wheelers Hill are expensive suburbs and quality suburbs. we recently toured all these in early 2021, and ended up buying in Endeavour hills (IP for now, will move in 2023 and then PPR home for next 7years).

 

There are so many things to consider. Budget, commuting to work, schools, restaurants and shopping.

Probably Rowville is still good value , however public transport is poor and minimal lifestyle restaurants/Cafe there.

Clyde North having too much development and small blocks which is unattractive investment.

Median house price in Endeavour Hill is 740K and Wheelers Hill is 1.4 Mil...Significantly different price bracket.

Personally I like Wheelers Hill, Wantirna and Berwick.

 

At the moment, I am in Berwick and would like to upgrade the PPOR. Just don’t want the move to be a lateral, similar house/demographic move. I would like to upgrade….

 

Work is in the city 2days with WFH. I have kids who are yet to start primary school. Likely to buy an old 3 bed house with decent land and renovate/demolish or build.

 

I've lived in Berwick, Clyde and currently live in Endeavour Hills (which I would put second last, just before Clyde lol)

Wheelers Hill, Wantirna, Vermont would likely be the best and prices reflect this. I think one of these also has a pretty good public high school. Didn't do too much research because they were out of our price range.

Mulgrave is probably the next most expensive, a lot of price growth over the last few years (same with NP North). Possibly people priced out of Clayton, Glen/ Mount Waverly. Very convenient location, some very good public primary schools in some zones. Tons of old 3bed/ 1 baths that you could buy and knock over. Some of the areas are very industrial/ business parks.

Rowville is a bit cheaper and has some nice areas, from memory a lot of the schools were average though, not a very convenient location, but travel to clayton station isn't too bad and may become a major station when the rail loop takes off. Has a nice country feel despite not being too far from everything. Some very nice leafy streets. A tram line has been on the cards for years but nothing is happening soon. Lysterfield has some really expensive places on huge blocks, but imo it's too far out (as a commuter).

Berwick is a mixed bag, huge difference in price ranges. Nice main strip, plenty of cafes. Down the bottom of Berwick (past Centre rd) it's essentially Clyde with terrible traffic. On a good day it takes me an extra 15m to visit family in Berwick rather go home to EH so the commute time is something to consider if you ever stop WFH. Has Nossal (selective public) and St Margrets (girls private). Don't buy on the berwick side of the tracks near Genesis gym, a lot has been rezoned for 3 stories and the streets will not cope, they don't even cope as it.

Endeavour hills is a very convenient location for the pricepoint. It's on the M1 and M3, some streets can walk to Lysterfield lake and it's 15 minutes to Chadstone and Monash Uni. Nossal in 10 minutes away if your kids are smart cookies. No station but only takes me 12 minutes to drive to Noble park station.

Clyde has terrible traffic and houses are packed like sardines but some areas present well with nice houses and leafy streets.

 

They are all very different suburbs, e.g. you would spend a very different amount for a 3/1 on 600m across those suburbs.

Assuming your budget allows you to buy in all of them, then the picks of the bunch would be Wheelers Hill, Rowville, Wantirna/South.
Then Nunawadding, Vermont, Berwick, Mulgrave are in the next crop. Berwick is very nice, but it is a fair bit further from the CBD than the others in those first tiers.

The rest aren't really in the same ballpark. There are parts of Endevour Hills near Doveton/Dandenong that I wouldn't go near for a PPOR.

Mulgrave is a beautiful up and coming family area with some nice schools. It's only major downside is it doesn't have a trainline, and the closest is probably Springvale station. It has great access to the M1 though and Eastlink.
Wheelers Hill is closeby, but has a premium price tag.

 

Thank you all for your insights….

Do any of you use this site to compare suburbs?
Any thoughts?

Compare Australia Suburb - Warranwood , VIC vs Vermont, VIC

 

If I was choosing where to live, maybe Wantirna, Mulgrave or Rowville, or possibly Wheelers Hill.
I like Knox Shopping centre in Wantirna, which is massive and lots of nice houses in that general area.

Berwick is popular with families, but it's a newer suburb than many of the others on your list, and for that reason, there are less really big trees in the area. Maybe not as bad as Cranbourne.

I live in Kilsyth and for an outer suburb I like the amount of trees and general aesthetic of the area in Kilsyth, Mooroolbark, Lilydale, Croydon, Ringwood etc. compared to southern suburbs like Berwick etc. Plus Eastlink is a great highway to be kind of near to.

 

Berwick has Nossal High School which is a select school as mentioned before. Avoid Clyde Rd side of Berwick if possible but anything on the north side is highly sought after...$1m plus is quite common. Rowville suffers from a lack of a train station but some nice family areas. Endeavour Hills is ok but suffers from the stigma of being next door to Doveton. The other suburbs are more established and expensive comparatively. Clyde North would be last on my list as a PPOR.

 

Agree with @Westie, If budget permits, I would concentrate on these suburbs (in order):

Vermont
Wheeler Hills
Wantirna South
Wantirna
Berwick

 

Thank you and where does Warranwood sit?

 

I'll go against the grain here and suggest Nunawadding

Parts of the suburb are zoned for Blackburn high school and it's got a train station with a very easy commute compared to the other options.

 

I don't know about the school either, but FH could be a good suggestion if the OP has a tolerance for a 15 min walk to Nunawadding station from the northern part of FH