St Kilda East house prices have slumped 17.8 per cent to a $1.52m median, but experts say the inner suburb is Melbourne’s biggest bargain and set to bounce.

PropTrack figures show units are holding firm at a $580,000 median, up 0.9 per cent year-on-year, even as house values pulled back, widening the gap with neighbouring bayside postcodes.

Separate SuburbData analysis puts St Kilda East about $348,000 cheaper than nearby bayside areas, despite near-identical lifestyle and transport access.

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Prominent Bayside real estate director Gary Peer said the suburb’s median had been “heavily influenced by apartment sales” after an investor exodus, but buyer demand was pivoting.

“St Kilda East is absolutely prolific when it comes to apartments, historically it’s been a hotspot for investors,” Mr Peer said.

“But over the past few years, many investors have exited the market … the rapid rise in interest rates was a big one … land tax has also bitten hard.”

Mr Peer said as investors sold off apartments, the buyer pool shifted and that change, combined with the sheer volume of transactions in that space, has softened price growth.

“Compared to five years ago, prices in St Kilda East haven’t climbed the way we might have expected,” he said.
In some cases they’ve stayed flat or even gone backwards and that’s rare in Melbourne.”

However, the head of Gary Peer Real Estate said the lifestyle edge was pulling new buyers in.

“First-home buyers love it for the proximity to the CBD … you can walk to the beach without paying ‘right on the sand’ prices and the transport network is exceptional,” Mr Peer said.

Port Finance mortgage broker Jacob Thorne said cheaper borrowing and incentives were already stirring activity, with more momentum likely as rate cuts flow through.

“We’ve definitely seen momentum building, particularly among first-home buyers,” Mr Thorne said.

“Inquiries are absolutely through the roof.

“Government incentives like stamp duty waivers, the First Home Buyer Guarantee, and LMI waivers are all fuelling confidence.”

Mr Thorne added that even a modest improvement in borrowing power changes outcomes on auction day.

“On a $100,000 income, buyers gain an extra $10,000 to $12,000 in capacity,” he said.

“At auction, that’s often the difference between dropping out and securing the home.

“And buyers aren’t wedded to one postcode most clients don’t lock themselves into one postcode.”

The Port Finance mortgage broker said buyers are looking at a cluster of suburbs, a dynamic that favours St Kilda East when nearby options get too pricey.

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The post Why St Kilda East homes are undervalued now appeared first on realestate.com.au.

It would be hard to find a single Australian who would turn down the chance to have one of five main bedrooms unveiled tonight in their own house.

But that doesn’t stop the judges referring to one as a “disaster” and another as a reason to vomit.

First to be judged is Emma and Ben – by Sonny and Alicia – who consider the young couple childhood sweethearts almost sickeningly lovely.

“How can two people just be kind to each other all the time? And they have been together the same amount of time as Sonny and I: 14 years,” Alicia said.

Cut to Sonny and Alicia squabbling over painting and Alicia threatening divorce.

Then it’s on to the actual judging, where Ben and Emma’s incredible burgundy and timber custom-made bedhead, red marble topped beach and open walk-in robe with island have the judges in raptures.

“They have nailed the beautiful modern den,” Shaynna said.

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The judges love the red marble handles in the walk-in robe and the double skylight built into the pitched roof.

About the only fault they can find is the placement of the heavy bedside pendants, which almost left Marty Fox concussed when he demonstrated how easy it would be to hit your head when getting out of bed.

“The reason they might not get a perfect 10 is the lump on my head,” he said.

Their neighbours Han and Can don’t fare so well, and they could be forgiven for feeling hard done by.

After being told to lean in to their Wes Anderson-style aesthetic and colour palette two weeks ago, Shaynna now wants them to lean out, telling them they don’t have the styling chops to pull it off.

Marty is more brutal.

“Oh, I hate it. I absolutely hate it. I actually want to vomit. I’m great at selling, not even I could sell this room,” was his hyperbolic assessment.

The problem is their choice of a vibrant blue highlight colour. They’ve used it behind the bed and on some of the built in cabinetry.

“It’s so abrasive, it’s so intense, it’s actually really throwing off everything else in here. Thankfully it’s really easy to fix,” Darren said.

“There are so many elegant inclusions in here that are overwhelmed by this punch in the face,” Shaynna agreed.

Han and Can take the over-the-top comments surprisingly well, but quite reasonably point out that it’s difficult to know how to respond when they’re told to do one thing, and then told to the opposite.

“It’s confusing when you’re told to create a dream space and be bold and be brave and then you get shut down for it, but it is what it is,” Han says.

In any case, their feedback pales when compared to Sonny and Alicia’s, who the judges say have made mistakes that are much harder to fix than changing a paint colour.

They have a hidden door into their walk-in robe, wallpaper designed by Alicia herself, velvet curtains, fireplace and bench seat.

But Shaynna describes their gallery-style entrance as being like a “dated hotel entrance” saying “even though the artwork is exquisite it feels corporate”.

She also hates the exposed power points beside the bed, noting that they could easily have had a much wider bedhead to cover them, and bigger bedside tables, given how much space they had.

They also get pinged for their poor paint work and for the fact the direction of the grain in their secret door doesn’t match the surrounds.

But the biggest error in the judges’ view was not making use of that space and extending the size of their walk-in robe.

With a make-up station placed in the robe’s darkest corner, glass fronted drawers that leave socks and undies on full display and a narrow space for getting dressed, Marty calls the whole thing “a disaster”.

“You’re standing 24 storeys up in a two-bedroom Southgate apartment sold 15 years ago to someone who’s never visited it,” Marty added, sinking the boot in.

Alicia is teary by the end of it all but they try to put a brave face on it.

“Everyone gets a roasting and we just got roasted I suppose,” Sonny said.

“We put a lot into that room so it’s a bit upsetting.”

Britt and Taz have a much easier time of it.

“Serene, elevated, refined and sophisticated” are just some of the adjectives thrown out by

Darren Palmer about their room, which has the bed facing the window, a Daylesford-perfect timber bench at the end of the bed and a lux walk-in robe with two entry points, huge full length mirror and island bench with drawers for days.

Shaynna begs them to get rid of the plants, and some unnecessary hanging pendants above a reading nook, but compares the cop pair to fellow former law enforcers Alyssia and Lysandra as having the chops to transition into interior design.

“Everything in that room is Britt,” Taz says. “I know how amazing she is but to hear it from a world renowned interior designer and real estate legend, what an opportunity, what an amazing thing to say.”

Mat and Robby get similar praise for their “masterful” feature paint work. The judges love their custom four poster bed but also notice the lack of a fireplace and island bench in their walk-in robe.

The boys are trying to save cash to pay for their secret wine cellar, but the judges don’t know that.

The night ends with Britt and Taz narrowly beating Emma and Ben. They also pick up the $10,000 budget award, and get an extra $10,000 for scoring a perfect 10 from Darren Palmer, making it a $30,000 night for the WA duo.

FINAL SCORES

Britt and Taz 29

Ben and Emma 28.5

Mat and Robby 25

Sonny and Alicia 21.5

Han and Can 20

MISSED AN EPISODE? HERE’S ALL OUR RECAPS SO FAR

Episode 1: Why no NSW applicants were good enough for The Block

Episode 2: The worst day on The Block

Episode 3/4: ‘Tear them off’: teams forced to rip tiles from walls

Episode 5: Judges feedback leaves one contestant vomiting

Episode 6: Dan and Dani’s heartbreak

Episode 7: The big problem with the Block house designs

Episode 8: Robby and Mat’s drunken blunder

Episode 9: ‘An up-market nursing home’

Episode 10: Can faces the wrath of Han

Episode 11: Han micromanaging from her sick bed

Episode 12: Sonny cops a spray from Alicia

Episode 13: Brutal feedback leaves Block team confused

Episode 14: Han and Can are in trouble with Dan, and other contestants

Episode 15: Han explodes at Dan in shocking tirade

Episode 16: Defiant Han gets epic dressing down from host Scott Cam

The post The Block 2025 Episode 17 recap: two teams are smashed by hyperbolic judges appeared first on realestate.com.au.

Sydney’s property market is making it harder to move out and forcing more families into smaller homes.

In some cases, families are sacrificing the space of a traditional home in exchange for a more affordable, more manageable apartment that prioritises the convenience of an inner-city location.

A Finder survey from 2023 revealed that one in 10 Australians – equivalent to 662,000 households – had either moved back home with their parents or had an adult child return home in the past year.

The leading reasons were soaring rents and the opportunity to save money for a house deposit.

Ray White Lower North Shore director Tim Abbott said it was becoming more of a trend for families with older children in high school or university to opt to live in apartments.

“There is quite a growing demand for that,” he said. “I think that makes sense for them to have a dwelling big enough that’s a comfortable size for the kids to stay – because kids are now staying a bit longer while they save up for a property themselves.”

Mr Abbott said convenience and location were two of the main drawcards for families buying a unit.

“There’s convenience in the fact that they don’t have to do the maintenance, and the fact that they can just lock up and leave,” he said. “But also proximity to the city, particularly if the kids are at university or at school.

“Being in a handy location with those attributes is quite appealing – not to everybody – but certainly to a growing number.”

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Jane Turner and her husband bought an apartment in Erskineville in 2017 for $1.01m, after selling their home of 23 years in the area.

They were looking to downsize and free up some capital, but still wanted to remain in the inner west. Their daughter Lucy, aged 24, lives with them in their two bedroom unit.

While Ms Turner is happy with the amount of space, she said it this was not the case for everyone.

“Some of the apartments you’re seeing now, the rooms are so so tiny,” she said.

“Even if they are two bedrooms and they’ve got two bathrooms, it really doesn’t compare with the kind of space that we have here, which is not huge by any means.”

Ms Turner said it would be “great” if her daughter was able to move out “for her sake and our sake”.

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However, the reality is that so many young people cannot afford to leave home.

“Now, how could our daughter, for example, even if she gets a few friends to share the rent with her … there’s no way they can afford it,” Ms Turner said.

“I remember back in my day … we’d all be renting some place in Darlinghurst or something like that with four or five friends and it was totally affordable.”

Another drawback of apartment living for Ms Turner has been strata fees, which have nearly doubled since she first bought the property.

“Our strata fees initially … were about the equivalent of $150 a week,” she said.

“It’s fair enough because it makes our living conditions more comfortable.

“Then they had to do roofing work, so then our strata fees almost doubled with very little notice. They’re close to $300 a week now.”

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Ms Turner said her husband would like to eventually use Lucy’s bedroom as a studio, so that he can pursue his passion for painting.

“I guess we are compromising there,” she said. “But we’re not gonna kick our daughter out because there’s no bloody way she can afford to rent.”

Despite these compromises, Ms Turner said the financial and personal freedom of moving into an apartment has ultimately improved her family’s quality of life.

“I haven’t looked back,” she said. “I just really enjoy living here.”

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Given the demand, property developers are increasingly looking to cater to the market for families.

Developments such as the under-construction Willoughby Grounds on Sydney’s lower north shore offer three and four-bedroom units in the hope of appealing to this crowd.

Mr Abbott said these apartments were priced from $2.7m-$3.5m.

The post More Sydney families trading houses for apartments appeared first on realestate.com.au.

Forget Baby Boomers, young rich listers with tens of millions of dollars to splash on a home are reshaping the top end of Melbourne’s property market.

Big tech names like cryptocurrency casino tycoon Ed Craven and eCommerce king Ruslan Kogan have dropped jaw-dropping sums of up to nine figures on multiple Toorak pads in recent years.

They have blazed a trail that has led to an emerging group of wealthy buyers in their 30s and 40s snapping up homes worth upwards of $10m across the city.

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A new report from prestige agency Marshall White has named young tech tycoons as a significant influence on Melbourne’s premium listings.

Aside from technology entrepreneurs, other big spenders include retail, hospitality, sport and social media success stories.

Cryptocurrency power couple Michael Egorov and partner Anna, fitness influencer Steph Claire Smith, billionaire businessman Adrian Portelli and former My Kitchen Rules contestant and developer Zana Pali are among Melbourne real estate’s young movers and shakers buying up mansions.

In 2022, Mr Craven made headlines when he purchased a long-vacant Toorak mansion for$80,000,088 and another Toorak house for about $38m. He was still in his 20s at the time.

Marshall White director Marcus Chiminello was involved in both transactions.

Now in his early 40s, Mr Kogan has snapped up several properties including a $38.8m Toorak mansion in a deal inked by Mr Chiminello and colleague Richard Mackinnon.

In addition, the Kogan.com founder has reportedly bought a circa-$20m home for his parents.

Meanwhile, Curve Finance founder Michael Egorov, in his 30s, and wife Anna have splurged a total $59.25m on two neighbouring Hawthorn properties.

And two years ago, a then 34-year-old Mr Portelli purchased a $39m Melbourne penthouse.

The founder of online promotions and giveaway business LMCT+ had a crane hoist his $3m McLaren GTR car more than 50 storeys up and put inside the home.

According to Marshall White’s Prestige Property Index 2024-25 financial year report, a mix of young, rising tech wealth, successful IPOs, generational inheritance and ongoing international migration means Melbourne’s upscale housing market is attracting a wider diversity of age groups.

Mr Chiminello said the internet meant money could now be made far more quickly compared to decades ago.

“Which then allows people, whether it’s in their 20s or 30s, to get out there and spend $20m, $30m, $40m, $50m in their first significant property purchase,” he said.

He’s noticed many mega-successful younger buyers want impressive homes where they can entertain away from the public eye.

“We’re seeing fully customised bars, we’re seeing sort-of speak-easies and also setups like nightclubs within homes, through to pickleball courts,” Mr Chiminello said.

He added that buyers also tended to prefer off-the-market sales, as they valued privacy.

Morrell and Koren buyer’s advocate to Melbourne’s top end, Matthew Cleverdon, said there had been a “significant” emergence of cashed-up young buyers across the past five years.

From arriving at appointments on a skateboard to making their millions through streaming themselves playing video games online, they are approaching wealth and luxury homes in a very different way to past generations of rich listers.

Mr Cleverdon said he had seen buyers in their early 20s pay more than eight figures for a residence.

He has also spent time educating well-to-do yet inexperienced young purchasers, keen to find a home that reflects their success and lifestyle, about the process of buying a multimillion dollar abode.

Without expert guidance, they might think little of paying more than a property’s market value if it’s in their dream location or available within a certain time frame, Mr Cleverdon noted.

“It’s very difficult in a world where you can get most things instantly online,” Mr Cleverdon said.

“Whereas getting a great house in a great street and a great suburb takes time.”

Brighton-based Fredman director Joel Fredman, in his 30s himself, has noticed a higher volume of affluent buyers in their 30s and 40s – in fields as diverse as cosmetics, tech and insurance – since the Covid pandemic.

“I’m a guy in his 30s selling properties, and you’re meeting people (the same age) who have budgets of $3m to $15m looking for something high-end, it’s quite amazing,” Mr Fredman said.

He’s also observed more moneyed young buyers from Sydney, Perth and Tasmania wanting to settle in Melbourne.

MELBOURNE PROPERTY: THE YOUNG AND THE RICH LIST

Ed Craven, online cryptocurrency casino and live-streaming platform co-founder

Homes: Toorak mansions, bought for $80,000,088 and $38m-$40m.

Ruslan Kogan, eCommerce companies’ founder

Homes: Toorak mansion, bought for $38.8m

Toorak mansion, bought for circa-$20m

Flinders, two properties, bought for a total $15m+ together

Toorak, two adjoining homes, bought for a total $8.9m

Michael Egorov and Anna Egorova, cryptocurrency power couple

Homes: Two neighbouring Hawthorn properties, bought for $41m and $18.25m

Adrian Portelli, online rewards’ club founder and property investor

Homes: Apart from buying and listing several properties from television show The Block, he bought a $39m Melbourne penthouse

Owen Kerr, foreign exchange broker co-founder

Homes: South Yarra, bought for $36m

Sean Senvirtne, online retail marketplace founder

Homes: Brighton vacant block, bought for circa-$22m

Brighton apartment (including a beach box), bought for $1.6m-$1.75m

Jack Merlo, acclaimed landscape designer

Homes: Has bought and sold a handful of Toorak homes for prices ranging from $12.5m to $20m+

Steve Phar, SMS information service founder and property developer

Homes: Toorak mansion, sold for $15.5m

Dean Mintz, online fashion retailer founder

Homes: Toorak mansion, bought for $14.5m

Laura Foley and Dave Oosterloo, skin care brand founders

Homes: Brighton house, sold for $9.75m

Mt Martha house, sold for $4.7m

Zana Pali, former My Kitchen Rules star, beauty queen, developer and lawyer

Homes: Brighton house, sold for about $10m

Steph Clare Smith, fitness influencer, fitness app co-founder, podcast co-host and model

Homes: Brighton East house, sold for $7.855m

Scott and Alex Pendlebury, he’s a Collingwood player and she’s a nutritionist, presenter and influencer

Homes: Bayside house, bought for about $7m

Elwood house, sold for $6.5m

Blair James, self-tanning brand co-founder

Homes: Kew house, sold for $7.1m

Blairgowrie house, sold for $2.12m

Laura Henshaw, fitness app co-founder (alongside Steph Clare Smith) and chief executive, podcast co-host, author and model

Homes: Brighton house, bought for $4.4m

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The post Toorak takeover: rich young guns fuelling Melb’s luxury market appeared first on realestate.com.au.

He’s brought the festive magic to South Australia for more than two decades and now Adelaide’s own Mr Christmas, Brian Gilbertson, is hoping the sale of his Thorngate home of 31 years brings him some good cheer.

Prior to buying the 18 Churcher St home they are now selling, Mr Gilbertson, 70, who has been the director of the Adelaide Christmas Pageant for the past 23 years, and his wife Julie Sloan, 67, the CEO of Workforce Planning Global, were previously living in Carter St, Thorngate, with Ms Sloan joking the couple had “lived in two of the suburb’s two-and-a-half streets”.

“All up we’ve been in the suburb for about 35 years – most people in the suburb stay for a generation,” she said.

The couple have raised their family there, including their son, actor Harrison Sloan Gilbertson, who is set to appear in the upcoming Springsteen biopic Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.

“He came home especially to say goodbye to the house, so he flew in from New York only a couple of months ago just to have a last swim and to sit under the tree, look at his bedroom and spend some time in the old garage which became sort of like a man cave studio to him, because that’s where he studied all of his early roles,” Mr Gilbertson said.

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Mr Gilbertson, an accomplished singer with a star on the Festival Theatre Walk of Fame, said the home was always filled with music, especially at Christmas.

“There was one year where we had a family party at the back and the next-door neighbours were having a party so I stood up on the side of the fence on a ladder and conducted both backyards in a singalong of the whole 12 days of Christmas,” he said.

The updated 1920s character bungalow in Adelaide’s smallest suburb has five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a swimming pool, and sits on an 892sqm allotment.

Being sold through Benjamin Tan of Harris Real Estate, the home will be auctioned on Saturday September 6 and is being marketed without a price guide.

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Now “rightsizing”, as Ms Sloan proudly puts it, to Eighty Eight O’Connell in North Adelaide, the couple said they leave with plenty of wonderful memories and will miss its fantastic city fringe location.

“We sit right at the top of Prospect Rd nestled in between Fitzroy, Medindie and Prospect and then we’ve got just a short walk across the green belt to O’Connell Street, so the location is just incredible,” Mr Gilbertson said.

“I think any family who purchases this property will stay for a long time and have a wonderful, wonderful life here.”

The post Mr Christmas Brian Gilbertson selling historic Thorngate home after 31 years appeared first on realestate.com.au.