Chelsea is one of several suburbs outside the Melbourne CBD and inner ring that has experienced impressive growth in recent years. Despite its many charms, it is still affordable and is widely considered an overlooked gem among bayside suburbs.

Attractive lifestyle

Chelsea, located about 35km from the CBD in the City of Kingston, has a long stretch of pristine beaches and offers an idyllic lifestyle. It’s on the Frankston rail network, which was recently upgraded to improve safety, reduce congestion and offer more frequent services.

Hop on an express train and you’ll be at Flinders Street Station in about 45 minutes. There are also numerous bus routes that connect Chelsea to key hubs such as Dandenong and Airport West.

A relaxed community vibe sets the scene in this south-eastern pocket – the water is calm and inviting, and iconic beach boxes and a picturesque pier give the shoreline its unique character.

In Chelsea, older residents mix with newcomer professionals and young families eager to buy into a great lifestyle in an affordable location. There are many school options to choose from in the surrounding area, from religious schools to public primary schools and private schools. They include Haileybury, Cornish, Lighthouse, St Bede’s, Mentone Grammar and Kilbreda. Monash University’s Peninsula Campus is about a 10-minute drive away.

Cafes, restaurants, bakeries and gelato ice-cream shops are scattered along the main strip on the Nepean Highway and provide a great selection of snack, meal and takeaway food options.

Chelsea is bustling with businesses that include supermarkets, butchers, a newsagent, pharmacy and hair salons. Larger department stores and a cinema are in the Southland Westfield shopping centre, which is only 20-minutes away.

Community sports clubs around the area cater to football, cricket, tennis, bowling and horse-riding enthusiasts. Bicentennial Park has a lovely playground area with a dog park and barbecue facilities, and the nearby Edithvale Wetlands is a magnet for hikers and bird watchers.

In neighbouring Bonbeach, there's a country club and golf course, and you're only a 30-minute drive from the food, wine and the natural beauty of the Mornington Peninsula.

Is Chelsea a growth suburb?

Chelsea and its surrounds are quite eclectic in terms of housing styles, from turn-of-the-century cottages, 1920s Tudor-style homes and mid-century beach houses to modern upmarket townhouses and a mix of 1960s and 70s apartments and villas. The clutch of absolute beachfront properties are, of course, the jewel in the Chelsea crown.

Chelsea offers a modest rental yield but both the relative affordability and capital growth rate for houses (which is ahead of the national average) give the suburb strong appeal, and make it a solid choice for those looking to buy outside the inner city.

Realestate.com.au provides the following data for Chelsea as of May 2022 (based on sales over the previous 12 months):

● Median house price: $1,112,500 for houses and $650,000 for units

● Rental returns: $480 per week for houses with an annual rental yield of 2.7 per cent and $425 per week for units with a rental yield of 3.4 per cent

● Sales: 82 houses and 149 units were sold in Chelsea in the last year.

Based on five years of sales, Chelsea has seen a compound growth rate of 17.7 percent for houses and 4.5 percent for units.

Our Chelsea team is part of the Barry Plant Bayside Group, a four-office network that works together to achieve great results in sales and property management, making it one of the largest collaborative sales teams in the region. Thinking of buying, renting or investing in Chelsea? Get in touch.

To find out more about Chelsea, including up-to-date statistics, visit the Chelsea suburb profile >