Melbourne entry-level home prices jump up to 12 per cent amid buyer squeeze

Melbourne buyers hoping to break into the market, and out of the rental cycle are facing twin pains. Melbourne’s first-home buyers and lower-income families are facing a cruel reality that the city’s most affordable homes aren’t losing value at the same rate. Real Estate Institute of Victoria analysis of home sale price data across the past 12 months has revealed that the city’s lower quartile, the bottom 25 per cent of the market, is its best performing — with many suburbs still growing in value. From September 30, 2025, to the same time this year the most affordable homes in the majority of suburbs have also been the ones seeing the biggest uplift in prices. RELATED: Melbourne house values tumble to 2021 levels after $63,500 wipeout Vic land tax scheme $1bn short of plans Melb rents climb to record levels The trend is most pronounced in Mornington, where the bottom 25 per cent of homes sold typically did so for $920,000, about $100,000 (12 per cent) more than they would have a year ago. In Caroline Springs an 11.4 per cent increase in the most affordable segments of the suburb dragged the median from $660,000 to $735,000. Other suburbs that saw the same trend include Glenroy, whe...