Neighbourhoods: Black Rock

Local agent Romana Altman of Buxton, says that, unlike Bayside suburbs further to the north, all of Black Rock has direct access to the Bay – with no railway line to divide it. “Pretty much everywhere in Black Rock is not much more than five minutes from the beach,” she says. The suburb is the location of one of Melbourne’s most popular beaches, Half Moon Bay – home to the wreck of HMAS Cerberus, and flanked by the steep cliff face of Red Bluff.

Bluff Road, which runs inland from that famous clocktower roundabout, has a great local shopping strip with a good mix of speciality shops, cafes and food and produce outlets. Sandringham is the closest big shop, while Cheltenham and Southland are on the back boundary.

Despite the plethora of families, there is no state secondary school in the suburb, with most children going on to nearby private or catholic high schools after attending Black Rock Primary or St Josephs.

Locals like: The Cerberus Beach House serves seafood in a fabulous location overlooking Half Moon Bay, while Cafeteria is a buzzy lunchtime favourite in Black Rock’s shopping strip. Apart from the foreshore parkland, there’s MacDonald Park with its footy ground, playground, skate park and great dog walking.

Best streets: Fifth Street is one street back from Beach Road and has big homes on massive 950 square metre blocks with MacDonalds Park at the end of the street and no through traffic. In the Golden Triangle between Beach Road and Bluff Road streets such as Bay View Crescent and Gordon Crescent have similarly generous land and are a couple of minutes’ walk to the beach and the shops on Bluff Road.

Prospects: The median house price for Black Rock increased solidly by 7 per cent over 2014 but was below the overall Melbourne result. Units increased by 5.3 per cent, a higher growth than the overall Melbourne result of 4 per cent. Domain Group Senior Economist Dr Andrew Wilson says that Black Rock has recorded solid price growth recently, reflecting increased buyer activity in Melbourne’s prestige bayside suburbs.

Where else to buy? A little further down Beach Road, Beaumaris is another rapidly modernising family friendly suburb at a touch lower price point. Sandringham to the north has the benefit of the train line and more in the way of period housing.

Three of the best in Black Rock

1. 219 Beach Road
$3.5 million
4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2 car spaces
Year built: late 1960s
Land size: 860 square metres
Private Sale
Inspect 1pm-1.30pm, Saturday
Agent Kay & Burton 9820 1111
Last traded 2010, $3,150,000
More photos: Domain.com.au

This was originally a much more modest late ’60s home, although one built with style and quality materials. Six years ago it was comprehensively renovated by the previous owners to create a modern and luxurious home that is more fitting to its fantastic location just across the road from Half Moon Bay, but that also retains some of the distinctive stylistic quirks of its era. It’s a back to front block, with a large front yard that provides a bit of a buffer between the house and busy Beach Road and features a lovely swimming pool flanked by an al fresco sitting area and square of lawn.

The living area downstairs is grandly proportioned and has a huge kitchen that is a sleek modern interpretation on its ’60s heritage. Beyond this is a children’s bedroom zone with its own living area and a large bathroom. Both these bedrooms look out over a nicely planted-out courtyard with a long Japanese-style fish pond. Another bedroom with its own bathroom and adjoining study is up the front of the house, providing an ideal home office or practice or a main bedroom alternative to the much grander bedroom suite upstairs. The upstairs suite provides the real wow feature of this home. Along with the bedroom and a palatial en suite it has a fantastic retreat/sitting area that opens up to a deck with amazing views out over Port Phillip Bay. Nicely protected by glass walls, this would be a wonderful spot for a cocktail or two watching the sun set over the You Yangs and the Bellarine Peninsula.

Room for improvement: This is an understated home from the street, but it lacks for nothing in terms of amenities and luxury in a great location.

2. 18 Arranmore Avenue
$2.4 million plus
5 bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms, 3 car spaces
Year built: 2012
Land size: 776 square metres
Auction 12.30pm, August 16
Inspect 12pm-12.30pm, Saturday
Agent Hocking Stuart, 9521 9800
Last traded NA
More photos: Domain.com.au

Within its quiet tree-lined suburban street, this is a vision of ultra-white modern architecture that would not look out of place down the road on Beach Road. Past the mature palm tree in the nicely scaped and planted front yard, this is a stunning and well-thought out family home with no luxury overlooked or amenity uncatered for. For a south-facing home, it’s full of light, helped by the full glass entry lobby that brings in northern light unobstructed by the open runged staircase.

Polished terrazzo floors, a huge marble kitchen bench and glossy white built-in cabinetry give a feel of sleek luxury to the downstairs living area. This area, huge as it is, is made even more spacious with a seamless indoor/outdoor connection to the al fresco area – complete with teppanyaki grill and a lap pool with separate spa. The whole effect down here is Queensland tropical resort, especially with the tropical plantings setting off the lawn and the pool area.

Upstairs are two separated bedroom zones – one for the main bedroom, with huge en suite and capacious storage areas, while another zone has three bedrooms – each with their own luxury en suite and walk-in-robes – arranged around an enormous living area that leads to a wide balcony looking out to Port Phillip Bay. There’s a fifth bedroom or home office with its own en suite on the downstairs level for guests.

Room for improvement: No one in the family is going to have reason to complain about being deprived of any need or luxury in this beautifully appointed home. Even the three car garage is light and bright and clean-lined.

3. 2/39 Stanley Street
$780,000 – $860,000
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 car spaces
Year built: 1985
Land size: 176 square metres
Auction 11.30am, September 6
Inspect 10.45am-11.15am, Saturday
Agent Smith and Jones, 9672 3456
Last traded 1986, $159,000
More photos: Domain.com.au

In a suburb dominated by big family homes, it can be difficult to find something appropriate in Black Rock to downsize into. This villa unit tucked away at the back of two is a bit of a surprise winner in that regard. Built in the 1980s and little updated since then, it has great bones and provides surprisingly generous accommodation that will give downsizers plenty of room to move. The living areas are particularly spacious here, with a large lounge area at the front of the home that leads through sliding glass doors through to a good-sized kitchen and dining area. This area has big windows to the north that flood the whole area with light.

To the side there are three bedrooms – the main with a neat little en suite and separate built in robe, and two smaller rooms alongside a bigger bathroom, which will be perfect for the grandkids or friends to stay, with space for the sewing machine or a study. All the rooms look out over the narrow but nicely planted out outdoor areas that wrap around all three sides of the unit. A sunny courtyard outside the dining area will make a pleasant outdoor dining area. There’s a big double garage with a comfortable turning circle. This is in a quiet street not too far from Black Rock’s shopping strip.

Room for improvement: This is perfectly liveable as is, in an ’80s kind of way, but will come up nicely with a wholesale cosmetic update – especially to the kitchen and bathrooms.