Being family-friendly with easy access to quality schools and parks helped drive home prices in several Whitehorse suburbs in Melbourne’s east.

Many houses in Whitehorse made six-figure gains in 2021, according to data from the Real Estate Institute of Victoria.

While many houses earned more than $500 a day, sought-after Surrey Hills houses posted a daily jump of $1514, and it was among Melbourne’s top 10 best-performing suburbs. Part of the suburb lies in the neighbouring Boroondara council region.

Surrey Hills had a median house price of $2,297,500 in the 12 months to December 2021 or a stunning 31.7 per cent growth.

Also increasing in popularity with buyers was Box Hill South where prices rose $805 a day with the median price jumping 23.2 per cent to $1,560,500 last year.

“Box Hill South is very family-friendly with lovely large houses compared to nearby areas where there are more units, townhouses and rental properties,” Barry Plant Blackburn agent Casey Wang said.

“Being in the Box Hill High School zone is a strong selling point and it is also close to Presbyterian Ladies College and shopping at Box Hill Central, Burwood One and Brickworks.”

The suburb, she added, features plenty of greenery, parks and a golf course, and is tightly held with residents tending to stay for long periods.

“Many of the buyers here also look for larger houses which they can renovate,” Ms Wang said.

A buyer splashed $1.81 million in late 2021 on 34 Asquith Street, Box Hill South, and will demolish the house and build two townhouses for home occupation and sale.

“It was a very strong result because it was just land value,” Ms Wang said.

The seller paid $1.31 million for the 894sq m property in 2016, making a price gain of $500,000 in five years.

In nearby Blackburn South, the median house price rose 21.4 per cent to 1,339,500 or $638 a day over the period.

A dated five-bedroom house at 165 Holland Road, Blackburn South, sold under the hammer last October for $1.25 million. The vendor paid just $59,000 for the property in 1982.

“Blackburn South is sought-after because many of the blocks of around 600sq m cannot be subdivided and it attracts plenty of families who stay for 20 to 30 years,” said Ms Wang, who lives in the suburb.

“Parts of the suburb fall within the Box Hill High School zone and this has helped prices grow fast.”

The leafy neighbourhood also has access to several quality public, private and independent schools.

Other top-performing Whitehorse suburbs included Mitcham and Vermont South, which registered price growth of 21.5 per cent and 19.2 per cent and daily price gains of $605 and $630 respectively. Many nearby suburbs also posted annual price growth of 20 per cent or more.

Melbourne’s median price gained $170,000 to reach $1.07 million in 2021, according to the REIV data.

The price boom saw 35 suburbs post daily jumps of $1000 or more, with some of the best performers on the Mornington Peninsula and East Melbourne.

But such growth was not sustainable, REIV president Adam Docking said, and he expected a more balanced market this year.