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Leonie Bawden has lived in Dingley Village in Melbourne’s south-east since 1989, and describes her neighbourhood as “just a nice vibe”.
“I feel safe, it’s quiet, I’ve never had any trouble with neighbours or anything like that. And where my home is, it’s just a short walk to the shopping centre, and there are three schools around all within walking distance,” the 73-year-old retiree said.
Leonie Bawden is selling her Dingley Village home.Credit: Wayne Taylor
Her home of 23 years is her third property in the suburb since 1989, and when she takes it to auction on Saturday, she will have reason to be hopeful.
Dingley Village is one of Melbourne’s most successful suburbs for auctions, recording a clearance rate of 89.7 per cent during 2025.
A string of Melbourne suburbs recorded ultra-high clearance rates last year, topped by Yallambie in the north-east with a 95 per cent clearance rate and just 20 auctions reported between January and November, on Domain data.
Clearance rates of 90 per cent-plus were achieved in Chelsea Heights, Jacana, Gladstone Park and Notting Hill. Melbourne’s overall clearance rate hovered in the high 60 to low 70 per cent range over the same period.
Bawden used to work in real estate and has been watching the local market. She thinks prices are on the mark, and not overinflated.
“I think auctions work better in this area, better than private sales,” said the Richmond Football Club Former Players and Officials Association secretary and treasurer. “It’s a bit of a sought-after area and there’s quite a bit of interest in every home that goes up for sale in the area.
“There has not been many times when things have been passed in around here.”
Domain’s chief of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell said most of the suburbs with high clearance rates were established, family-oriented areas in the middle to outer north-west corridor, offering an accessible price point.
“These areas would be popular with first home buyers, upgraders from neighbouring suburbs or families trying to get into a detached house,” she said. “When you’ve got a high clearance rate, it is telling us that there is high levels of demand relative to a tight supply that is there.”
While there are not enough home sales in Yallambie for Domain to calculate a median price (it is also one of the most tightly held suburbs in Melbourne) Powell said Chelsea Heights was a good example of the kinds of suburbs with high auction success rates.
“The median at Chelsea Heights is $980,000 – this is kind of a prime [price point], particularly in Melbourne,” she said.
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“When you think about some of these suburbs, like Chelsea Heights, Caulfield East, Gladstone Park, Aspendale Gardens etc, they are all lifestyle-orientated, school zone-driven areas with infrastructure and connectivity.”
Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee said the mid-range pricing of the suburbs was consistent with what she was seeing in Melbourne more broadly.
“The top end of Melbourne is still fairly flat, not really seeing much price growth there,” she said. “Where we are seeing price growth is more at the cheaper end.”
Conisbee added that while Yallambie was a difficult suburb to characterise – “it does have a mix of homes, some beautiful big properties but some diversity in pricing” – it broadly fit in with the other suburbs, which have homes that fit into the 5% Deposit Scheme cap.
“This may also be a factor driving higher clearance rates,” she said.
Bawden’s selling agent, Nathan Arrowsmith of Buxton Real Estate Dingley Village, said the area’s schools were a drawcard, as well as its easy transport links to Brighton and the Mornington Peninsula.
“It is just a great community and a big attraction for first home buyers and also families, which is a big chunk of the market,” he said.
He said some potential buyers arrive in the area for its value for money after realising the nearby Cheltenham market is “quite heated”.
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“They see value by rolling into the neighbouring suburb which is Dingley Village,” he said.
In Yallambie, there are also interested buyers who have expanded their search from better-known nearby suburbs such as Viewbank, Jellis Craig North East’s Daniel Cobern said.
“Obviously I think it is a great suburb. It has strong clearance rates for good reasons. It is pretty tightly kept,” he said.
“You do get a bit of overflow from larger suburbs around the area … that trickles into Yallambie.”
He thought the neighbourhood had become better known over the past few years, as it will benefit from the North East Link tunnels under construction.
“A lot of buyers would not have even known where it was even if they were looking in Greensborough and Montmorency,” he said.
“It is a great area now but it is going to be even better in a few years to come.”
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