Melbourne suburbs where most people are moving

Inner-city areas are still in demand despite Melbourne’s mass exodus of droves of residents moving regionally or interstate to escape lockdown last year.

Trendy hubs of South Yarra, Brunswick and Richmond have topped the list of Victoria’s hottest suburbs where people are moving, according to a new report from removalist search engine company Muval.

The Muval Index 2021 also named similar neighbourhoods of Southbank, Carlton, St Kilda, Fitzroy and Brunswick East among the state’s most popular suburbs for people to move into.

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Data shows Melbourne has begun to bounce back from its massive spike in negative migration, where substantially more people were moving out than moving in.

Negative migration reached a promising low of -29 per cent in December 2020, compared to its peak of -61 per cent in August the same year.

But Victoria’s restrictions have continued to drive residents away, with the most recent lockdown sparking a resurgence of people looking to leave as negative net migration rose again to -46 per cent.

The report revealed there had been more than 100,000 online searches for “can I move during lockdown?” since the snap lockdown restrictions were enforced in late May.

Jellis Craig Stonnington director Nathan Waterson said South Yarra and its surrounding markets had still produced “very strong results” as properties were being sold before auction due to early offers and surging demand.

He suggested the movement away from Melbourne was a result of “short-term thinking”.

“A lot of the suburbs on the list have a great lifestyle around them, as opposed to having to go into the city,” Mr Waterson said.

“(South Yarra) has access to the CBD, but there’s some of Melbourne’s best parks around too. It offers great amenities, great schooling, cafes, restaurants and shops … and beautiful real estate.”

He noted Melbourne was still ranked among the world’s top 10 most liveable cities – despite dropping down to ninth place this year.

But the precincts and apartment markets in the Docklands and Southbank had “suffered” during the pandemic as some of the lifestyle appeal faded during lockdown, Mr Waterson said.

Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee said the inner Melbourne unit markets would continue to be a challenge until overseas migration started up again.

“Surprisingly, however, prices are still being maintained in many areas seeing big drops in rents and we are not seeing a high level of distressed sellers,” Ms Conisbee said in the agency’s latest Ray White Now report.

She said while prices in Melbourne had grown overall, the increase was “a little bit more subdued” than other cities.

“The state has lost a lot of people to other states over the past 12 months. And the number of people moving to Queensland has not been seen since the early 1990s recession.”

“If this continues, it will hamper the state’s recovery,” she added.

Muval data revealed Brisbane ended the financial year with the highest level of growth in net migration at 96 per cent, and the highest percentage of inbound searches out of all cities across Australia.

VICTORIA’S HOTTEST SUBURBS FOR MOVING

1. South Yarra

2. Brunswick

3. Richmond

4. Southbank

5. Carlton

6. St Kilda

7. Fitzroy

8. Brunswick East

9. Point Cook

10. Docklands

Data: The Muval Index 2021, according to removalist inquiries for people moving within them and to them from other locations.

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