Greek Australian populated areas in Melbourne are seeing major increases in property prices, with many Greek home-owners sitting on housing worth 20 per cent more than it was a year ago.

“The Greeks like to hold onto property, they’re not the ones to buy and sell a lot” – Chris Savvides

Three Greek populated areas have been named in top 10 performing suburbs in Melbourne year to year, including Doncaster, Ivanhoe and Oakleigh East.
Doncaster was the fifth most improved, with a 24.2 per cent rise in year-to-year growth and a median house price of $988,000. More than 1,800 Greek speakers live in the suburb of Doncaster.

Ivanhoe was the sixth most improved, with a 23.9 per cent rise in year-to-year growth but a higher median house price at $1,030,000.
Oakleigh East came in tenth, with a 20 per cent rise and a median house price of $785,000.

The most sought after suburb in Melbourne was Prahran, with a 33.8 per cent year-to-year growth and a $1,167,500 median house price.
These suburbs have defied a weakening housing market in Melbourne, which saw overall house prices grow to just 0.6 per cent over the December period, down from the 1 per cent growth that was recorded in the previous quarter.

For suburbs experiencing a boom, many Greeks aren’t getting the itch to sell for an astronomical price.

Doncaster real estate agent for Jellis Craig, Chris Savvides, says even during big price peaks, Greek Australians aren’t getting the urge to sell.

“The Greeks like to hold onto property, they’re not the ones to buy and sell a lot,” he tells Neos Kosmos.

“They spend their lifetime in their home, it’s their castle.”

He does get a few Greek clients wanting to downsize as they age, but for Mr Savvides, the Greeks aren’t as big property players as they were 30 years ago.

“The Greeks are not as prominent buyers as they were years ago,” he says.

“Of late, what’s driving up our market is the influence of people coming from (generally speaking) China,” he says.

International investment in Doncaster has been a huge contributor to the suburb increasing its median house price, with many buying into the suburb long-term to make use of the good schools and open spaces.

The market is looking like it is going to shift to a buyers market as house prices overall begin to slow and interest rates slide.

This week the Reserve Bank of Australia decided to drop the interests rate to a record 2.25 per cent low, giving mortgage holders some relief and giving first-home-buyers more incentive to enter the market.