Cade Lucas
Manor Lakes doesn’t often stand out, but when the Real Estate Institute of Victoria released its house price data for the June quarter, it certainly did.
While Melbourne’s median sales price dropped by 1.1 per cent, Manor Lakes’ skyrocketed by 10.8 per-cent to $671,000, a result all the more impressive when compared to neighbouring suburbs.
Werribee rose by 6.4 per cent to $631,000 and Truganina 3.4 per cent to $645,000, but the likes of Wyndham Vale, Tarneit, Mambourin and Werribee South didn’t move at all and Point Cook Williams Landing and Hoppers Crossing declined.
For Richard Falzon, director of Manor Lakes based estate agent, Wyndham Real Estate, Manor Lakes’ popularity can be traced back to the opening of the V-Line train station in 2015.
“It was like chalk and cheese before and after,” said Mr Falzon who has sold properties in the area for 17 years.
“I was the only agent and it was like a ghost town, but now there are so many agents.”
New train stations also benfitted nearby suburbs such as Tarniet and Wyndham Vale (which shares their station with Manor Lakes ), yet the latter’s median house price is more than $120,000 less than Manor Lakes’.
Robert Falzon said a mixture of geography, infrastructure and demographics had helped Manor Lakes power ahead.
“It’s the last bit of suburbia.
It’s got good transport, there’s buses and the train, the local shopping centre has everything, there’s a number of schools in the area and more to come,” said Mr Falzon, adding that the area had a good reputation for family living and was particularly popular in the Indian migrant community.
“They all wanna live close to each other and recommend the area.”
Mr Falzon said the suburb was also in the sweet sport of still being cheap enough to attract first home buyers, while also providing value for those looking to spend more.
“Now that properties out here are selling for a million dollars, that represents very good value because you can build a 40 square home on a 500m square block.
It’s a million dollars, but it’s a prestigious home you’re getting.”
