Teagan and Andrew Fortunato with their children Amelia and Leo. They have just sold their house in Hume, one of Melbourne’s predicted real estate hotspots. Picture: David Crosling.
Several Melbourne areas are set to experience high buyer demand from autumn onwards with expectations property prices will rise in response.
A new report from real estate analysts Hotspotting, based on home sales data from PropTrack, also highlighted the regional Victorian hotspots for savvy purchasers to keep an eye on.
The municipalities of Ballarat, Greater Dandenong, Geelong, Hume, Mitchell and Yarra all made the firm’s list of top 10 Australian council areas for escalating buyer demand, a precursor to price growth.
RELATED: $405bn construction pipeline not enough to meet Vic housing goals
Investors target Melbourne’s sub-$700k homes in Coolaroo, Carrum
Moonee Ponds ‘generational’ home fetches massive $3.75m result
Hotspotting director Terry Ryder said Victoria’s capital and its regions would likely see improved prices in the next 12 months to two years, based on positive trends in surging sales numbers, even when accounting for interest rate increases and the rising cost of living such as at the petrol pump.
The Hotspotting Autumn Price Predictor Index report revealed that across Hume, in Melbourne’s north, the Sunbury, Craigieburn and Greenvale house markets showed particularly strong growth in the year to December 2025.
Craigieburn and Broadmeadows’ unit markets also showed positive growth.
The wider Hume municipality recorded a total 1817 residences changing hands between October and December last year, a rise of 52 per cent across nine months.
Teagan and Andrew Fortunato with their kids Amelia and Leo, and pet Labrador and Husky dogs. They have bought a new house after selling their current home in Hume. Picture: David Crosling.
The report found overall sales in the Moonee Valley council area, which neighbours Hume, rose 51 per cent in nine months, hitting 914 transactions in December.
The housing market in Airport West, Avondale Heights, Essendon, Keilor East, Moonee Ponds and Niddrie all rose strongly, plus units in Travancore, Essendon and Ascot Vale.
South east of Melbourne’s CBD, the Monash local government area logged a consistent unit market in Clayton, rising unit sales in Mt Waverley and Glen Waverley and rising house sales in Wheelers Hill and Mulgrave.
In the city’s east, Knox notched 820 home sales, a 55 per cent rise in nine months.
Hotspotting’s report stated that its standout suburbs included Bayswater, Boronia and Ferntree Gully, for unit sales.
Hotspotting director Terry Ryder says that after years of flatlining, Melbourne’s real estate market is set for an upswing.
Maribyrnong, in Melbourne’s inner west, and Whittlesea, in the northern suburbs, were also noted for a surge in total sales numbers.
When it came to Victoria’s regional areas, aside from Greater Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo, smaller regional centres with increasing sales trends included Ararat, Warragul, Echuca, Maryborough, Colac, Bacchus Marsh, Castlemaine, Darley, Wangaratta, Warrnambool and Sale.
Back in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, Teagan and Andrew Fortunato’s two children are excited to move into the Hume house their parents purchased just a few weeks ago.
The couple are upsizing to a larger residence with Amelia, aged 2 years old, and Leonardo, 4, plus their two pet dogs.
“Our daughter definitely understands what’s happening, because we took her to the open inspection and she keeps asking when we’re going to the new home,” Ms Fortunato said.
4 Ramsbury St, Craigieburn, is on the market with a $670,000-$730,000 range. The area has a median $705,000 house price.
When purchasing the new four-bedroom pad, their main priorities were space, school zones and proximity to the freeway for Mr Fortunato whose job as a concrete pump operator requires him to travel across Melbourne.
“We initially were looking at going closer in to the city but we couldn’t afford it on the size of land that we wanted,” Ms Fortunato said.
“And obviously, bigger blocks are harder to find the further into the city you go.”
Across the past few years at their current abode, they partially renovated, undertook cosmetic updates and landscaped the garden with the aim of improving the property’s value before selling it through Di Battista Real Estate’s Daniel Di Battista.
The Hotspotting report states there were 34,209 home sales in Greater Melbourne between October to December 2025. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Andrew Henshaw.
Ms Fortunato said she was not surprised the Hotspotting report showed Hume was among the top Australian areas for buyer demand after witnessing the suburb’s significant expansion across the past five years.
“Even just lining up for your groceries in the supermarket takes longer, queuing up for things in school and daycare takes longer,” she said.
“I guess that’s why they’re building more infrastructure, schools, shops and housing because the area is being inundated with people coming out here.”
This four-bedroom house at 25 Northgate Blvd, Kilmore, is on the market for $630,000- $670,000. Kilmore, in the Mitchell Shire, has a $622,500 typical house value.
Mr Di Battista said there was some uncertainty in the market and sales were taking a bit longer to finalise.
But with plenty of transactions still happening, he reckons median prices are likely to rise.
“The couples who are selling and then saying, ‘We’ll wait out it and see what happens,’ I think they’re playing with fire – I think they might get priced out in the next year or so,” Mr Di Battista said.
He’s seeing many buyers selling and then purchasing a new home within the same suburb or a neighbouring area of Hume.
“We’re also noticing some people from the other side of town downsizing their mortgage, buying a similar house but on this side of Melbourne and then having about half their previous mortgage size,” Mr Di Battista said.
Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox.
MORE: Australia’s major banks hike mortgage rates pushing repayments past 6 per cent
Victoria: cheapest liveable house in Australia sells for just $80k
$495m, 220m tower approved on Queen Victoria Market’s doorstep
English (US) · 