The one choice that can cost Melbourne home buyers an extra $110,000

Melbourne families will need to pay an extra $110,000 to upsize from a typical three-bedroom to a four-bedroom house, even amid the property downturn.

The cost of one extra bedroom is $22,000 more than it was 12 months ago, Domain figures show, as family home owners hesitate to list their properties for sale in a weakening market and buyers compete for the available quality stock.

The analysis used house price medians of two, three and four-bedroom houses from the June quarter.

Those wanting to upgrade from a typical two-bedroom house to a three-bedder will need to pay an extra $80,000. That has expanded from a $67,750 gap a year earlier.

At the same time, Melbourne’s overall median house price fell 3.1 per cent in the three months to June, the steepest quarterly fall in almost four years.

Prices slumped as the market grappled with rising interest rates and a higher cost of living which is slashing the amount buyers can borrow, as well as changes to property taxes and broader economic uncertainty.

Domain’s chief residential economist Dr Nicola Powell said the widening gap in price per bedroom still reflected the current market.

As prices softened, potential sellers were holding off from listing their homes, reducing the number of larger three-and-four-bedroom homes hitting the market and creating some competition between the buyers still wanting to upgrade.

“If you think about it, larger homes require a larger parcel of land which costs more, and the cost of construction is going up and that is pushing up the price also,” Powell said.

The price of four-bedroom houses jumped 6.8 per cent over the year, a steeper climb than the 3.6 per cent increase faced by buyers of two-bedroom houses.

Though some buyers would struggle to afford a larger family home, Powell said many were willing to pay the price to set themselves up for the future.

“The extra bedroom comes at a cost, but a lot of people will see it as their long-term home, their family home where they are raising their children as well,” she said.

The extra expense of buying a larger home is a reality for many families like Ibrahim and Lauren Lamar, and their seven-month-old son Isaac, who are hoping to sell their three-bedroom home in Hoppers Crossing to buy in Oakleigh or Mentone, closer to family.

The Lamars are hoping to be able to buy in these more expensive south-eastern suburbs, but are being practical about what they will afford with their budget.

They know a four-bedroom house would be out of reach, given how much more a house costs in those areas.

In the June quarter, the median house price in Hoppers Crossing was $691,000, while in Oakleigh it was $1,296,250 and Mentone $1.3 million.

“We’re just seeing what’s out there, for us, what’s feasible for us … hopefully we find something,” Lauren said. “I feel like being realistic the perfect place, within reason, would be in Oakleigh – a freestanding townhouse or house on a subdivided lot with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.”

While the Lamars are moving across the city to find a new home the same size, others already living in the outer west are hoping to upgrade locally.

Ray White Hoppers Crossing principal agent Shahid Khan said some were making compromises to find a house with an extra bedroom.

“Some buyers, if they’re upgrading … they’ll get a home with a slightly smaller block to get the fourth bedroom,” Khan said, adding that many locals have their parents living with them and need the extra space for privacy.

In the inner city and inner northern suburbs, home buyers were also making sacrifices to buy into their suburb of choice.

Barry Plant Northcote’s Jesse Dolcetta said there were buyers who did not want to live north of Bell Street, paying more for fewer bedrooms to live in Northcote, Thornbury or Brunswick.

“It’s the biggest conversation I have with clients,” Dolcetta said. “Some people won’t cross Bell Street even if the value is a lot better … It’s a psychological thing of wanting that postcode.”

Some were more flexible, he said, moving into areas like Preston or Reservoir to be able to buy a house with more bedrooms.

“There’s quite a big spectrum of what people see more value in,” Dolcetta said. “You can get a good family home for 50 per cent of what you’d pay for the same house in Northcote.”