THE BEVERLY HILLS OF MELBOURNE
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Toorak supposedly has more properties valued at more than A$10 million than Beverley Hills – easy to see why it is often cited as Melbourne’s most affluent suburb and the second highest income postcode in Australia after Point Piper in Sydney.
Toorak has a reputation, perhaps undeserved, for being “snobby and pretentious”. Personally, operating as buyers agent I have not found it to be so. I wonder if it is a bit like Paris – where people go there with a preconceived notion that they are being looked down on by the residents!
Circa 7 km from the CBD and bordered by the Yarra River to the north, Armadale and Prahran to the south, Kooyong to the east and South Yarra to the west.
Citylink freeway access is via MacRobertsons Bridge. Toorak and Williams Roads are notorious for how congested they become, not just during rush hours. The other arterials – Grange, Orrong and St Georges Roads are also relatively busy.
If you prefer to take public transport, which I suspect most Toorak residents don’t, Toorak’s railway station – Heyington – is in the north eastern section of the suburb while the actual Toorak station is in neighbouring Armadale.
Trams run along Toorak Road (route 58) and Malvern Road (route 72).
Probably not the safest (or most common!) place to be a cyclist given the high number of “Toorak Tractors” (luxury 4WDs) but MacRobertsons Bridge provides access to the Main Yarra Trail and making for a very scenic riverside cycle into the CBD.
Toorak is well-serviced by a relatively high number of well-regarded private secondary schools and is close to others in South Yarra and Armadale.
On the downside in my view is its village hub is pretty uninspiring. Sitting on very busy Toorak Road and with not a great mix of hospitality or retail options.
Sitting in cafes in Toorak between property inspections, I’m always struck by how elderly the demographic is – particularly when compared to neighbouring South Yarra.
The housing stock mix is relatively unusual in that it has a large number of large “compound” properties, both heritage and modern, which stand in contrast to the large number of apartments – many originating in the 1920s & 1960s/70s – when large heritage houses were demolished or subdivided.
Some beautiful Italianate heritage houses and increasingly there is a disproportionately large number of “historical reproduction” houses (Neo Georgian!) which I think detract from the streetscapes. There are a number of consulate offices within residential streets too.
Where it does offer Toorak property buyers good value is mid-century-ish apartments which offer significantly larger floor plates and smaller blocks with bigger setbacks from the boundaries of adjoining properties than modern apartments.
Interestingly when viewed on a price per sqm basis to comparable size/standard houses, properties in Toorak are considerably less expensive than those in suburbs like East Melbourne, Albert Park and Middle Park.
Last update: 21 Feb 2023