Close to the action and heading up
The Age
Saturday March 19, 2011
AS A suburb, Ashburton is small but beautifully positioned.It's bound by Gardiners Creek, with its reserves, sports grounds and the Malvern Valley Golf Course, and by Warrigal Road, which gives quick access to the Monash Freeway.Local real estate agent Tim Dwyer says Ashburton is close to Melbourne's geographical centre."We're only 30 minutes to the airport and 15 to the city and we've two train stations Ashburton and Alamein," he says. "Ashburton's come a long way in a short time. Glen Iris was the new Malvern, now Ashburton is the new Glen Iris and it has million-dollar homes."The architecture varies. North of High Street there are lots of 1920s and 1930s homes and south of High Street you get prefab postwar homes built for the returned soldiers. We now have younger, second-home buyers renovating the 1920s and 1930s homes, or taking down the postwar homes and building."Mr Dwyer says house prices range from $700,000 for a home needing renovation, to about $1.7 million."The land size varies but most are about 650 to 700 square metres. We don't have many apartments, only small blocks. There are some townhouses, priced from $800,000."The area has plenty of bike and walking tracks and the recreation centre is always packed. We've got a good range of shops that's getting better all the time. And Chadstone is only 10 minutes away."Ashburton also appeals to families because it's handy to a wide selection of schools and to Holmesglen TAFE and Deakin and Monash universities.
© 2011 The Age
