Why Melbourne loves a stylish suburb
Author: Caroline Gonzalez Date: May 3, 2007
Publication: The Age
The idea of a European lifestyle has always been a strong selling point in real estate advertisements. Many, especially in the inner city, boast of proximity to amenities such as cafes and public transport.
In the blue-ribbon suburbs, there's nary a property blurb that doesn't tout gleaming European appliances, open-plan dining and kitchen and alfresco living on the timber deck as the drawcards of a family home.
In the city and Docklands, apartment living has become chic with scooters the accessory of choice.
Last year, the 10-level Era apartments in Richmond were publicised with the help of Uruguay-born champion scooter rider Julio Languiller, who planned to buy one of the apartments. "There are still plenty of parking spaces in the basement for people to park their cars and the scooters fit into the storage space provided for each apartment," he said in a press release.
Our turning European is not an entirely new development. After all, today's Melbourne was shaped by the European migrants of the 1950s and '60s, who set up restaurants and homes in Brunswick, Carlton and Fitzroy - suburbs that are now among the most sought-after in Melbourne.
But now even suburbs further out, such as Niddrie, Heidelberg and Parkdale, are getting in on the act. The trend is spreading, with suburbs throughout Melbourne now filled with stylish cafes, organic food, and homewares and fashion shops.
It's a fascination that hasn't gone unnoticed.
Last year, the Urban Development Institute of Australia took 25 property developers and town planners on a tour through France, Italy and Dubai to try to encourage them to replicate European building forms.
Tony De Domenico, chief executive of the institute, believes Melbourne lends itself to a European lifestyle more than any other city in Australia.
"Melbourne has had a multicultural foundation established so close to the city and other Australian cities are not the same in this way," he says.
"The real test will now be if the development industry takes on the smaller-style dwelling a la Europe style and moves away from building the 'Mcmansions', to encourage Melburnians to live in smaller properties and apartments and make them more affordable," Mr De Domenico says.
"I think affordability is part of the equation.
"A lot of people now want to live close to where they work, yet they can't afford these half-a-million-dollar luxury apartments being built in and around the city.
"People have accepted you can't have the quarter-acre block and proximity to shops and to the city."
Seven years ago, Robert Papaleo, director of strategic research at Charter Keck Cramer property market research company, predicted the emergence of property hot spots, including Yarraville and Westgarth in Northcote. While he says that the question of whether a population is drawn to a lifestyle or whether a lifestyle is deliberately shaped to attract residents is "a bit of a chicken and egg" question, he acknowledges the increased prominence of lifestyle and romanticised "European" tastes in property, which he says may well simply be an evolution of Melbourne society.
"Restaurants create a retail precinct and therefore have a much broader impact on the surrounding built form of housing," he says.
In March, the Real Estate Institute of Victoria surveyed 81 real estate agents in metropolitan Melbourne on what they believed were the priorities of buyers in choosing a property.
Institute chief Enzo Raimondo says structural condition rated the highest, followed by number of bedrooms, then overall dwelling size and land area, then proximity to schools and shops.
Proximity to public transport came in sixth compared to five years ago, when it was ranked as the third-most-important attribute in a similar survey.
Mr Raimondo says that of the agents surveyed who were working in the field five years ago, most believed there had been no shift in the tastes of property buyers in the past five years.
Yet while there are no hard and fast figures on whether lifestyle amenities strongly influence buying decisions, many agents believe that living within walking distance of public transport, good restaurants and boutiques are undeniably considered attractions in any city.
"We can't just think of that as European. It's also very North American and very New York," says Nigel Flannigan, an associate director of SGS Economics and Planning and a senior fellow in urban planning at the University of Melbourne.
"We tend to use the term European but I don't think we are becoming European."
But Mr Flannigan does believe there has been a cultural shift in Australia.
"Twenty years ago there wasn't anyone dining on the sidewalk in Australia. People said it wasn't in our culture back then."
Even 10 years ago, shoppers couldn't find a cup of coffee amid butcher shops and hairdressing salons in Bay Street, Port Melbourne, says Christine Nicholson, sales manager at real estate agents Chisholm and Gamon.
"Twenty-five years ago, you couldn't get anyone to come to Port Melbourne," she says.
But, she says, there has been a huge cultural change in Port Melbourne.
The main street is now full of restaurants and boutiques, and the extension of light rail to Station Pier makes travel into the city easy.
The change has come about not just as a matter of taste but also as a result of the recent property boom, says Mr Flannigan.
"Once all your needs are met and you have money still to use, you start to look for other things such as going out to cafes and restaurants," he says.
Nipping around the inner city
After several years of riding a Vespa through Europe, Greg Young wanted the enjoyment and ease of getting around on a scooter near his home of St Kilda.
Mr Young, 44, recently bought a two-seater black Piaggio Vespa as a surprise for his partner, Melissa Davis, who was equally experienced in riding scooters.
Mr Young says the scooter, which cost $10,000, makes transport easy in St Kilda and surrounds while minimising fuel consumption and pollution.
The pair chose to live in St Kilda for the sociable, inner-city lifestyle.
"Where we are now is a fantastic spot - it's a coincidence that it's close to work," says Mr Young, a business consultant for the Palace nightclub.
"It's Melway map 57 to 58 where we mainly hang out, where our favourite things are - the cafes, shops, restaurants, gymnasiums - it's all here," Ms Davis says.
The couple plan to buy another scooter although Ms Davis still needs a car for her work in property management.
"I think Vespas are becoming more popular especially with higher petrol prices," Ms Davis says. "It costs $9 to fill the tank and you get a couple of hundred kilometres out of it."
"And parking - I love it! Now I can park on the footpath," Mr Young says. "You are allowed to park on the footpath as long as you don't obstruct pedestrians or other vehicles."
10 emerging lifestyle suburbs
- Brunswick - Sydney Road
- East Brunswick - Lygon Street
- Preston - High Street
- Melbourne city west end - Spencer Street
- Bentleigh - Centre Road
- Niddrie - Keilor Road
- Heidelberg - Burgundy Street
- Northcote - High Street
- Altona - Pier Street
- Parkdale - Como Parade West
SOURCE: ROBERT PAPALEO, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC RESEARCH, CHARTER KECK CRAMER
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