Jessica Benton
MELBOURNE’S wealthy are turning Barwon Heads into a “rich precinct”, according to one of Victoria’s leading demographics experts.
KPMG’s Bernard Salt said the town’s 13th Beach Golf Links Estate was among the 50 richest suburban precincts in Victoria.
More than a third of the estate’s 64 residents reported they were in the high-income bracket at the 2006 Census, Mr Salt said.
“The average for Australia is one-in-25 people in the upper bracket but here you have one-in-three,” he said.
“While this is a small community base it’s technically a well-to-do community.”
Mr Salt said 13th Beach was one of two neighbourhoods outside metropolitan Melbourne among Victoria’s “ritziest suburbs”. The other was Portsea.
However, Mr Salt expected 13th Beach to eventually drop down the rankings.
“Initially the people moving in have been well-to-do but over time there’ll probably be a more balanced community,” he said.
“But for the moment 13th Beach has the distinct title of being Victoria’s Toorak by the Sea.”