Numerous Mornington Peninsula home sellers have cut from hundreds of thousands of dollars to millions from their asking prices.
A Mornington Peninsula fire sale has homeowners offloading properties with multimillion-dollar discounts, but local experts believe the tide is turning.
A Herald Sun review of high-end listings along the popular coastal getaway spot has revealed cut prices anywhere from $500,000 off for family homes to $5m for elite addresses.
Even former AFL player and Saints coach Grant Thomas is advertising a getaway next to Cape Schanck’s National Golf Course that’s had $1m saved off its asking price.
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The property initially hit the market last year with $11m-$12m hopes and is now seeking $10m-$11m.
Hunters and Collectors guitarist Barry Palmer has also cut sale hopes by $450,000 for his now $3.5m-$3.85m piece of Balnarring Beach.
They’re among dozens of homes with asking prices today six and even seven figures below what they were just a few months ago, and in some cases years after they were first listed.
PropTrack’s latest data shows that at May’s end, the Peninsula’s $1,121,500 median house price was starting to climb again, rising 1.9 per cent since last year.
But it remains $128,500 (10.28 per cent) below the $1.25m figure it was at the start of June, 2022.
3640 Point Nepean Rd, Portsea, got a $5m asking price cut to $25m — before seemingly being withdrawn from sale.
Peninsula getaway garden destination 130 Hyslops Rd, Boneo, hit the market with $8m-$8.8m hopes, but is now seeking $7m-$7.7m.
And there are some areas where prices have taken a far more significant reduction.
Red Hill’s median house price has dropped $862,500 in the past four years to $1,787,500 today.
In Sorrento, the $1.8m typical price today is well below the $2.435m paid in 2022, and Rye has dropped back out of the $1m club with an almost 29 per cent median price drop taking it to $935,000.
However, more affordable areas like Hastings, have gained ground, with a $45,000 uptick to $745,000 for the suburb’s typical house.
Sotheby’s International Realty’s Rob Curtain said while the medians could be warped by lower sales volumes in suburbs along the Peninsula, in many instances homes were initially being advertised at prices that reflected 2022 levels.
Mr Curtain said while it might look like some were dropping by 40 per cent, the reality was that the home would have never sold at that initial price point.
Hunters and Collectors guitarist Barry Palmer recently cut his Balnarring Beach home’s asking price by $450,000. Homes & Acreage have the listing.
There’s been a seven-figure price cut for this executive weekender owned by former Saints coach Grant Thomas. It’s for sale through JP Dixon Real Estate.
“But I think we are getting to bottom, and some sellers are sensing that and they are not moving on price any further after they have come down,” Mr Curtain said.
“They are waiting for the buyers to come up.”
However, he warned it could be after this year’s state election before the market fully changed gear.
The agent who caters to the Peninsula’s top end said for sellers who bought before the Covid pandemic, they were still getting good results in terms of big gains.
Those who had bought in 2022 or 2023, however, were facing a scenario where the cost of their loan had risen substantially, their council rates were up and so was their land tax bill, if they had bought a holiday home.
With all that happening, and the combination also deterring other holiday home buyers, he said many were selling up because the attraction of the beach house had waned.
Buyer X buyer’s agent Michael Sier said he believed the local market was close to its bottom, and noted his agency had increased purchase volumes by 50 per cent from a year ago – in a sign that buyers agreed with his view.
THE PENINSULA’S BIGGEST DISCOUNTS 2022 TO TODAY
| Suburb | 2026 median | 2022 median | Change $ | Change % |
| Red Hill | $1,787,500 | $2,650,000 | -$862,500 | -48.25% |
| Sorrento | $1,800,000 | $2,453,000 | -$653,000 | -36.28% |
| Rye | $935,000 | $1,205,000 | -$270,000 | -28.88% |
| Portsea | $3,000,000 | $3,810,000 | -$810,000 | -27.00% |
| Blairgowrie | $1,435,000 | $1,725,000 | -$290,000 | -20.21% |
| Mount Martha | $1,420,000 | $1,660,000 | -$240,000 | -16.90% |
| Cape Schanck | $1,250,000 | $1,440,000 | -$190,000 | -15.20% |
| St Andrews Beach | $1,600,000 | $1,810,000 | -$210,000 | -13.13% |
| Capel Sound | $751,750 | $847,500 | -$95,750 | -12.74% |
| Somers | $1,575,000 | $1,750,000 | -$175,000 | -11.11% |
Source: PropTrack
“I think we have probably bottomed, although that is conditional on what happens with unemployment from here,” Mr Sier said.
“Some of the banks have revised their rate forecasts, and that’s a good indicator of the situation for rates.”
If the RBA holds next week, he’s tipping confidence in the property market to start building again.
“And with Melbourne behind other capitals, it’s better value compared to a lot of areas — so I don’t think it will go back from here.
“I’m not telling people to buy before selling, but I am telling those who can to buy now.
“There’s amazing opportunities to buy at the moment.”
42 Jacksons Rd, Mount Eliza – was for sale at $7.2m-$7.9m in 2024, according to CoreLogic records, but is now advertised at $6.6m-$7.26m.
23 Georges Rd, Flinders, is for sale at $5.4m-$5.8m, with sales records showing it last sold for $6.2m in 2022.
Mr Sier said while there had been a hint of a rebound last year as the Reserve Bank cut rates, this year there had been another decline, meaning people buying today were paying the same price as a few years ago.
The buyers agent added homes with the best prospects would have a good mix of size, views and quality renovations — with most still turning away from homes in need of work.
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