Goya Dmytryshchak
Kingsville has recorded Australia’s fourth-highest growth in unit values and was greater Melbourne’s No. 1 property performer last year, with suburbs in the city of Maribyrnong dominating Melbourne’s top 10.
Kingsville experienced 16.6 per cent growth in unit values, pushing the median price to $520,063, according to CoreLogic’s Best of the Best report of Australia’s top performing suburbs for 2020.
In greater Melbourne, West Footscray was at No. 3 with 11.5 per cent growth and a $507,373 median.
Williamstown was at No. 6 with 9.7 per cent growth and a $692,483 median, followed by Footscray at No. 7 with 9.3 per cent growth and a $460,279 median and Maidstone rounded out the Top 10 with nine per cent growth and a $568,686 median.
Sweeney Estate Agents Yarraville manager Niels Geraerts said Kingsville was “virtually identical to Yarraville“ but more affordable.
“In actual fact, it’s probably got the same demographics, the same style of houses – mainly Victorian and Edwardian and California bungalow period homes,“ he said.
“One side of the road’s Kingsville and one side of the road’s Yarraville.
“It’s probably suffered a lot in the past because a lot of people don’t know where Kingsville is.
“Normally, what people will say when they do buy in Kingsville is, ’Gee, well, I should have started looking here right from the start because it’s right next to Yarraville.’
“It’s gained momentum now because Yarraville became very expensive and is very popular and Kingsville for a long time was more affordable. But it’s starting to get back up to the stage where it’s more sought after to buy in, in some respects, than some of the other areas.
“People love Kingsville – it’s got its own flavour.“
Greg Hocking Elly Partners director Wayne Elly said Kingsville’s proximity to the city, Yarraville and Seddon had attracted more development.
“The increase in townhouse and apartment pricing is because there’s more getting built – that’s the bottom line,“ he said.
“There’s more being built there all the time, and it’s better quality.
“Location to the city, as well. It’s close to everything – close to services – and Kingsville’s quite a small area so all of a sudden you have a quite a few results taking place in there because they’ve built more townhouses there.“
He said the market was “very buoyant“ despite COVID-19.
“People know they’ve got cheap interest rates for quite some time now and there’s also been some incentives to purchase – stamp duty and so forth – especially for first home buyers,“ Mr Elly said.
