This house on the Yarra River at Mayfield St, Abbotsford, sold this week after being listed with a $5.5m-$6m range.
It’s filled with E-coli and the colour has people questioning if it’s upside down, but Melbourne’s Yarra River has become a surprise hot spot for celebrities and millionaires.
Sales results show the most impressive waterside mansions along the city’s best known waterway are selling for as much as $21m in the past three years.
And those with a private pontoon or jetty bank hefty returns when they hit the market in suburbs from Toorak to Hawthorn, Ivanhoe and Kew.
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Big names who’ve sought a spot along the river include comedian and television host Andy Lee, Stereosonic music festival co-founder Richie McNeill and coffee king Rob Maisano — all of them having owned homes worth vast sums along its length.
Lee and fiance Rebecca Harding splashed $8.5m on a derelict circa-1876 Hawthorn mansion on the Yarra, in 2021.
They’re working on a $5m makeover of the property including building a second abode, riverside pool and underground tunnel connecting the two residences.
Andy Lee and his fiance Rebecca Harding, an entrepreneur and influencer, bought a derelict Hawthorn mansion on the Yarra River for $8.5m in 2021. Picture: Instagram.
Renders showing what Andy Lee and Rebecca Harding’s Hawthorn home will look like when their massive renovation is completed. Andy Lee shared the renders via his Instagram in September 2025. Picture: Instagram/@AndyTomLee.
The couple’s dog Henri will even have his own room in the mansion. Picture: Instagram/@Rebeccalharding.
In the same suburb, a mansion featuring a Yarra River pontoon and riverside deck changed hands for a whopping $21.41m in a campaign managed by Marshall White’s Marcus Chiminello, three years ago.
And Coffee Machine Warehouse managing director Mr Maisano, who founded both The Coffee Company and Maisano Coffee Concepts, sold his and wife Emily’s riverfront Hawthorn digs for $8.008m last year, through Kay & Burton’s Rae Mano.
Mr Mano said that having rare direct Yarra River frontage could add tens of thousands of dollars to a house’s value.
This Hawthorn mansion with a Yarra River pontoon fetched $21.41m in 2023.
Stereosonic music festival co-founder Richie McNeill and stylist wife Lauren Millay sold these Toorak digs for $16m.
In Hawthorn, this house on the water front changed hands for $8.008m in 2025.
“To the people that see value in these homes, they will usually tend to pay a premium for them,” Mr Mano said.
“There’s only a few of houses that are available by the water and the good parts of the river as well.”
Mr Mano and colleague Jamie Mi have the listing for a five-bedroom house with a Yarra River jetty at 803 Orrong Rd, Toorak, on the market with a $19.5m-$21.45m range.
Buyers from Sydney, Hong Kong and the US have inquired about the home which features a pool and wellness centre as well.
803 Orrong Rd, Toorak, featuring a Yarra River jetty, is for sale with a $19.5m-$21.45m range.
The house was a collaboration between builder Easton, Alta Architecture and DND Studio.
Closer to Melbourne’s CBD, a circa-1890 Abbotsford house showcasing just under 39m of river frontage sold this week after being listed with $5.5m-$6m price hopes.
The Mayfield St address is set on a sprawling 1225sq m allotment including a bocce court and winding paths.
RT Edgar’s Sarah Case declined to comment on the final sales figure but industry sources indicated it fetched close to $7.5m, about $1.5m above the expected range’s upper end.
Ms Case said the abode’s Daylesford-like setting on the river near Melbourne’s CBD had been a major drawcard.
“It was inspected by 320 people who came through the house, it was the best inspected property we’ve had in about 10 years,” she said.
The owner of the Abbotsford house has lived there for 25 years.
Built circa-1890, the home occupies land which was once part of the historic Mayfield estate of Melbourne watercolourist Georgiana McCrae.
The agency director said that much like homes near the water in Brighton or on Sydney Harbour, having uninterrupted river frontage could underpin a house’s long-term value – especially if was located opposite parkland which could not be built upon, like the Mayfield St residence is.
“Having that on your title or having that outlook, I believe that involves a premium anywhere from 10 to 30 per cent compared to non-river properties,” Ms Case said.
She said most owners of Yarra River-adjacent properties tended to hold onto them for decades.
This Ivanhoe mansion with a private Yarra River boat ramp, man-made waterfall, glass-walled lift and golf simulator sold for $13.5m in 2022.
Morrison Kleeman’s Rocco Montanaro had the listing for a $4m house at 10-26 Banoon Rd, Eltham, bordering the Yarra, which sold in 2024.
Mr Montanaro said homes on the river always drew plenty of buyers’ attention – and in 36 years of selling homes in Melbourne’s north east, he’s never seen a riverside home listed a second time.
While they are rare, Eltham homes on the Yarra offer an affordable alternative for purchasers wanting to live riverside, compared to suburbs such as Hawthorn and Kew, he added.
Located on St Georges Rd, Toorak, this home fetched $7.1m in 2024. It was listed with approved plans to build a new home on the site including a Yarra River jetty.
Morrell and Koren buyer’s advocate to Melbourne’s top end, Matthew Cleverdon, said that depending on where a home was positioned on the river, it could also be located on a busy boulevard with a lot of passing traffic.
THE YARRA RIVER’S TOP ADDRESSES
| Address | Price |
|
Yarra Grove, Hawthorn |
$21.41m |
| St Georges Rd, Toorak | $16m |
| Scotsburn St, Hawthorn | $8.008m |
|
Mayfield St, Abbotsford |
close to $7.5m |
| St Georges Rd, Toorak | $7.07m |
| St Georges Rd, Toorak | $7.1m |
| Young St, Kew | $5.6m |
| Riverside Rd, Ivanhoe | $5.21m |
| Garden Tce, Kew | $4.75m |
| The Esplanade, Fairfield | $4.6m |
Source: Realestate.com.au, RP Data (Cotality). Data covers January 2023 to May 2026.
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