Cover story
Gould Street, Brighton, left and below
Simply the best Melbourne’s prestige home buyers divide their loyalties between Toorak and Brighton, and most stick to their patch BY J ONAT H A N C H A NC E L L OR
B
righton has secured Melbourne’s highest trophy home sale price so far this year, as prestige estate agents sense a busier winter than normal. Its surprise $19.8 million sale has temporarily taken the baton from Toorak, which some would say is Melbourne’s best address. Others believe that honour belongs to absolute beachfront Brighton. Not that the two prestigious suburbs are rivals. Local agents say Brighton residents are very loyal to the bayside area. “Many were born and bred there and then settled there themselves, bringing up the next generation,” veteran agent and founder of Marshall White John Bongiorno noted recently. “People from outside Brighton tend to aspire to Toorak as Melbourne’s most prestigious suburb ... Toorak definitely is the home of Melbourne’s best range of top-end properties,” he conceded. There is not a lot of movement between the suburbs, as Brighton people like the village and to be near the sea, and Toorak residents like their village and their proximity to the city. Kay & Burton agent Ross Savas says the two markets follow a similar transaction pattern, partly due to the quality of local schools and access to parks and cafes. “While both neighbourhoods attract the country’s highest earners, they satisfy different lifestyle ambitions,” he says. “The riverside enclave of Toorak caters to slightly different needs from the beachside activity hub of Brighton. As a stronghold for generational wealth, Toorak has long been home to Australia’s most influential families, and now we are seeing young professionals moving in from the stepping-stone suburbs across Boroondara, Stonnington and Bayside.”
14
MANSIONAUSTRALIA.COM.AU
THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
| JUNE 13-14, 2020
