Townhouse switch saves priced-out Melbourne homes buyers massive $400K

Melbourne buyers are increasingly sacrificing the detached-house dream to stay in suburbs they love, with the price gap between houses and townhouses reaching about $400,000 in some cases. Melbourne homebuyers could save about $400,000 by giving up the detached-house dream rather than abandoning the suburb they already love. Rather than moving further out to chase a bigger backyard, priced-out families are increasingly sacrificing land to remain close to the schools, relatives and lifestyles they already know. Developers are moving to meet that demand by targeting some of Melbourne’s favourite established suburbs and delivering comparable family accommodation on smaller blocks for hundreds of thousands of dollars less. RELATED: Nadia Bartel’s cult fashion brand to open new store Secret couple’s extraordinary $1 St Kilda deal Melb unit sells for more than a house DM Property director Brendan Mullan said the price break between a newly built townhouse and a more rundown detached house in the same area could reach about $400,000. His company and joint venture partner Ark Capital have acquired sites for 23 townhouses at Parkdale and another 36 at Niddrie. A further 3ha Shepparton site ...