Toorak

House prices fall in top suburbs | NEWS.com.au

MANY of the nation's most prestigious suburbs appear to be facing house price slumps amid the credit crunch as their cheaper outer-suburban counterparts begin to emerge from years of price declines, The Australian reports.

House values in Sydney's inner and eastern suburbs fell 8 per cent in the six months to September as the credit crunch hit top income earners, according to data compiled by Australian Property Monitors.

But at the same time, house values in Sydney's western suburbs - long derided as the worst performers of the nation - fell just 2 per cent as new-home buyers sought better value in those long-depressed regions.

House prices fall in top suburbs | NEWS.com.au

According to APM, house prices in Perth's inner city and coastal western suburbs fell 7 per cent in the six months to September while house prices in the city's cheaper southeastern suburbs fell just 2 per cent. In Melbourne, inner-city house values fell 3 per cent in the period, while house prices in Melbourne's outer west rose 2 per cent.

While based on a relatively small sample size of 14 sales, houses in Melbourne's blue-chip Toorak slumped 24 per cent in the six months to September. Median house prices in the outer-western suburb of Melton grew 6 per cent to $207,000 in the same period.

Blue chip dip
                          Median price (six months to September)      Change
Melbourne
Toorak              $1.7 million                                                        -24%
Melton               $207,000                                                            +6%
Sydney
Bondi Beach   $1.14 million                                                      - 12%
Parramatta       $384,000                                                             -9%
Perth
City Beach-      $665,000*                                                            -7%
Armadale          $271,000                                                             -8%
* Region