Historically, Bayside has been one of the first areas to see values soften in a downturn and one of the slowest to rebound. The past year followed this familiar pattern—though the top end of the market remained resilient, and by late 2024, sentiment had shifted.
Partner
“While buyers were cautious, the key takeaway was that vendors needed to meet the market on price and have the right strategy in place,” said James Driver, Partner at Kay & Burton. “By November and December, we started to see confidence return.”
Despite lingering price sensitivity, Bayside homeowners can take confidence in long-term gains, with values rising an average of 25 per cent between March 2020 and January 2025 in Melbourne’s South East, according to PropTrack data.
Mr Driver has witnessed strong open-home numbers in early 2025, as buyers step back into the market in force, encouraged by the February rate cut—the first since 2020. According to CoreLogic, Bayside is among the top five areas in Victoria poised for the strongest price growth following the recent rate cut, with forecasts indicating a potential 16.4 per cent boost.
“We’ve expected 2025 to be a much stronger year,” Mr Driver said. “The tightening cycle has ended, and the past two years created pent-up frustration for buyers and sellers alike. This year, we’ll see more vendors bringing properties to market and more buyers ready to act.”
Buyer demand remains strongest for move-in-ready family homes, with renovated or newly built properties commanding a premium.
“We have a glut of buyers at the top end who we simply couldn’t match with the right home in 2024,” Mr Driver said. “These properties will be even more sought after this year.”
The Bayside lifestyle remains a powerful drawcard, with buyers willing to pay top dollar for homes that offer both quality and proximity to the water.
“Every time I drive down Beach Road from Beaumaris to Brighton and see the bay and yachts, I pinch myself,” Mr Driver said. “Bayside has been undervalued for a long time. Given expected population growth, the demand for incredible homes by the water will only push prices higher.”
Recent PropTrack data supports this outlook. While Melbourne’s overall median house price declined by 3.4 per cent in 2024, Brighton’s four-bedroom market defied the trend, rising 8.5 per cent to a median of $3.475 million. Hampton’s four-bedroom homes also saw a 3.7 per cent uptick to reach $2.48 million.
Kay & Burton continues to dominate the high-end Bayside market, securing a 33 per cent market share of sales above $7 million in 2024—more than double that of the next competitor at 14 per cent*. For sales above $10 million, our presence was even more commanding, with 67 per cent market share*.
*Data sourced from realestate.com.au sold listings and Kay & Burton CRM
