Newspapers
Pick up a copy of The Age on a Saturday ($3) from any news agency or supermarket. It contains an entire section about Melbourne property called “Domain”. Be aware that the Saturday Age is a monster of a newspaper and you will need to pick up two parts to it that look like separate newspapers.
Here you will find listings for all manners of dwellings open for inspection, both for sale and for lease. You can search by suburb name and view properties open for inspection at the times advertised. Agents will have application forms with them at the viewing.
While the newspaper is commonly used to locate inspection times, it contains far less information about properties than the Internet, making it a little less convenient.
There is a much higher number of owner-landlords to be found in the newspaper than online, though. If you prefer your rentals or sales to be made without agents, the newspaper is definitely your best bet.
Get up early and wear comfortable shoes as Open for Inspections are often listed on the Saturday they are being held.
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Websites
http://www.realestate.com.au.
The most popular real estate website in Australia. Here you will find properties for lease and for sale. You can search by price, suburb, and/or type of property (house, townhouse, apartment). Almost all of Australia’s real estate agents advertise their properties on this website, so you can save a lot of time by looking here first. It is a very convenient place to make your first point of contact with agents, before you even land in Australia.
http://www.domain.com.au
This website is the online incarnation of the Age newspaper’s real estate section. It includes a sub site which you can click through to called Domain Prestige, if you are looking exclusively for up-market properties.
http://www.realestateview.com.au
This site will allow you to inspect rental properties online, and set up alerts for properties and suburbs that may suit your needs.
http://www.suburbview.com/
A great site for searching whole suburbs or areas. This page displays results from all major real estate listings for a given area on Google maps. You can quickly see homes for sale or rent in the neighbourhood, and compare to recent sales / rentals in the same area.
Agent’s websites are highly recommended, once you find the area you would like to live in. Agents generally operate in specific regions, and their websites offer a greater selection of properties, with more up-to-date entries for the areas they service.
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Real Estate Agents
Generally speaking, most agents in Melbourne handle both sales and rental properties. They usually lease properties through their property management section, which has the best information and resources to help you find rental accommodation or finding a home.
Decide on what you want in terms of size, location and price range, and then ask the agent for their assistance. They will usually be able to let you know when suitable properties become available.
Service varies from friendly to shockingly rude, so if you find an attentive agent that you get along well with make sure you keep in touch with them. It is a fluid industry and you will find agents moving from workplace to workplace with alarming frequency. Ask them for a non-work email or phone contact so you are able to stay in contact if they resign from a particular agency.
All Melbourne real estate agents are used to dealing with expats, as a quarter of the population was born outside of Australia.
Unless you are particularly charming, you will be expected to make your own way to the property you wish to inspect. The alternative (when you are serious about buying, not for renting) is to ask to see 6 properties in one day and explain you have neither the time nor the resources to make your own way there. If there is a guaranteed sale in the offing, you have a much better chance of being chaffeured by the agent.
The following agents are well known for their expertise in their areas of Melbourne:
Leasing Melbourne Pty Ltd
Level 5 / 190 Queen Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Sales Telephone: 03 9670 5444
Rental Telephone: 03 9670 5444
http://www.leasingmelbourne.com.au
Comments: Specialist in CBD, Docklands, Southbank, Bayside and Inner Suburbs
Andrews Corporation
526 Latrobe Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Sales Telephone: 03 9254 6500
http://www.andrewscorp.com.au
Comments: Apartment specialists in CBD, Docklands, and Southbank
Apartment Superstore
522 Church Street, Richmond VIC 3121
Sales Telephone: 1800 272 786
Rental Telephone: 1300 850 730
Comments: Apartment specialists, Inner and Outer Suburbs
TBM – Talbot Birner Morley Pty Ltd – Toorak
1st Floor 428 Toorak Road, TOORAK, 3142 VIC
Phone: 03 98260000
Fax: 03 98276956
http://www.tbm.com.au
Comments: Specialists in high-end houses in Inner Eastern Suburbs and Outer Suburbs
Marshall White & Co Pty Ltd
1111 High Street, ARMADALE, 3143 VIC
Phone: 03 9822 9999
Fax: 03 9824 4897
http://www.marshallwhite.com.au
Comments: Specialists in high-end houses houses and units, Inner Eastern Suburbs (Toorak and South Yarra)
R T Edgar Pty Ltd
10 Wallace Avenue, TOORAK, 3142 VIC
Phone: 03 9826 1000
Fax: 03 9826 2128
http://www.rtedgar.com.au
Comments: Specialists in luxury properties, Inner Eastern Suburbs, Bayside Suburbs, Outer Suburbs
Hocking Stuart
Phone: 03 95090411
Fax: 03 95009525
http://www.hockingstuart.com.au
Comments: Numerous offices across Melbourne – plenty of inner city offices and properties. Terrible to renters, but great for buyers.
