The best value suburbs within 10km of Melbourne’s CBD have been unveiled

“Over the years, the area has improved dramatically,” Lyczewska said. “Right now you have mostly young people with kids in the area and there are a lot of brand new developments.”

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The closest best value suburb within 10 kilometers as the crow flies from the CBD is Pascoe Vale South at $2708 per square metre. Buyers could expect a median home price of $1,129,000 there.

It was followed by Preston ($2,779 per square foot, $1.1 million median) and Spotswood ($3,042 per square foot, $1.2 million median).

The numbers show valuable areas for buyers looking for more space. In contrast, the suburbs with the cheapest median house prices within 10 kilometers are Inner Western Maidstone ($850,000), West Footscray ($914,000), and Footscray ($952,000), but each costs more than $3,100 per square foot of land.

Domain boss for research and economy, Dr. Nicola Powell, said shoppers near town could still get good value if they knew where to look.

“It doesn’t always follow the trend of paying more if you’re closer to town,” she said. “It’s about the different building and residential landscapes in the districts.

“For an area that is being pushed to the extreme in its development, and it is a heritage site and there is little that can change that in and of itself can also help drive up the price per square foot.”

Powell said the metric is helpful for those who needed more space but were on a tight budget.

“It allows people to identify the areas that offer better value for money. You can say, ‘Oh, this is a suburb that hasn’t been gentrified yet,'” she said.

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Lyczewska believes the relatively low price per square foot and proximity to shopping malls make the suburb — and her home — attractive to both developers and families looking for more space.

“You’re five minutes from Ivanhoe, five minutes from Heidelberg, you’ve got Northland about five minutes from here,” she said. “I’m sad [to be leaving]. I love the area.”

Nelson-Alexander agent Nunzio Sulfaro has Lyczewska’s listing and agreed that their suburb has yet to be gentrified. He said those who didn’t look down on the suburb’s decades-long history as a lower-income neighborhood might find good value for money.

“Once people wake up and people realize – ‘OK, if I buy in Bellfield, I get all the amenities of Ivanhoe’ – [it’s a bargain] simply because of his reputation so long ago.

“There is still a long way to go in this area. Ultimately, the biggest problem with Bellfield is that no one knows where it is.”

Recent sales of high-end homes have pushed prices higher, Sulfaro said.

“What we’re seeing in Bellfield now is some top-end sales of $1.6 million and under, and as you know, it’s flowing from the top end down,” he said.

This sale took place at 18 Davidson Street in May of last year. Next door, 18A sold for $1.58 million in August.

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In Melbourne’s inner west, like Footscray, West Footscray and Maidstone, veteran real estate agent Craig Stephens said while the area is affordable, most buyers aren’t looking for the best price per square metre.

“It’s more the proximity to amenities,” said Jas Stephens CEO. “Next it’s the proximity to the train station and the historical feature of the houses.”

Stephens said buyers looking to get more land for their money are typically growing families.

“What we typically find are early-years people shopping in this area, having a baby, or working from home and longing for more space,” he said. “Then they sell and move a little further out to have more space. They love the Inner West and want to stay in the area.”