Great inner-city lifestyle close to the beach and very much a “village vibe” only circa 8 km south east of the CBD.
The village hub is Ormond Road which maintains a “local, independent small businesses” feel. Plenty of good cafes for a Melbourne Buyers Advocate like me to get a coffee between inspections, as well as restaurants, boutique retail, a small supermarket etc.
Buyers are attracted by the tree-lined streets and lots of attractive historic architecture including multiple beautiful deco apartment blocks.
Another big attraction is Elwood beach which is used by walkers (often with dogs), runners, cyclists, skateboarders, paddle boarders, kite boarders and those just enjoying lying on the beach.
Easy access, generally walking distance, to the rich variety of café, restaurants, retail in neighbouring St Kilda – which is continuing to gentrify.
The elephant in the room is Elwood’s very poor public transport. There is no train station within the suburb and this is made worse by the lack of trams.
Elwood is one of Melbourne’s higher density suburbs – which is interesting in that it does not have high level modern towers.
This density looks set to further increase as house sites continue to make way for multi-unit developments.
Lacks a major supermarket, with the nearest being Coles in St Kilda and Elsternwick. Good to have a fortnightly Farmers Market at Elwood Primary School.
Elwood houses have enjoyed consistent high performing capital growth and I think it is a very good option for singles and couples.
However as an inner city Melbourne buyers agent – for family buyers, I’m not quite so convinced from a price/value perspective. The very low proportion of houses to apartments within the suburb I think can make houses overly expensive.
Provided the beach is not a major draw card and you are prepared to be on the other side of Nepean Highway, nearby Ripponlea and Elsternwick are perhaps worthy of consideration because of their more compelling value for a family home.
Last update: 4 Mar 2023
