Featured on Channel 7: The Realta on Melbourne’s Hottest Affordable Market

As Seen on Channel 7

The Realta was recently featured on Channel 7 News, with our founder, Rocky Rana and Head of Research, Gurminder Singh, speaking on camera about Melbourne’s most compelling affordable growth market right now, Werribee and the surrounding western corridor.

The feature came as our team was on the ground in Werribee, standing in front of a property we had just secured for a client in her budget range of $600,000 to $610,000 on a 550 square metre block. Channel 7 had come to the western suburbs to cover a story about Melbourne’s affordable property markets, and The Realta was right in the middle of it.

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What We Told Channel 7

The conversation on the day covered three things that every property investor in Melbourne should understand right now.

Off-market activity has reached extraordinary levels.

Abhishek Elaawadhi, a local selling agent we work closely with in the western corridor, told Channel 7 that properties that are currently selling for $600,000 may touch valuations of $750,000 to $800,000 in the next two years.

In a detailed discussion with The Realta, Abhishek added that approximately 60 per cent of properties in the Werribee area are currently selling off-market within days of being identified, without ever being listed publicly. In his words, buyers agents are doing half the selling agent’s job, because by the time a property reaches a buyers agent’s network, the buyer is already informed, pre-approved and ready to act.

This is exactly the environment The Realta is built for. We make over 1,200 calls per month to selling agents across Australia, specifically to access these off-market opportunities before the broader market ever sees them.

The buyers who are winning right now are connected, not just searching.

In our discussion with Kamlesh Kamani, another local selling agent, he made a point that every investor should hear. He noted that the west is currently the most affordable part of Melbourne and that three out of five properties in the $600,000 range are being purchased by investors, because at that price point, with 500 square metres of land, there is simply nothing comparable available anywhere else in Australia. Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, none of them offer that combination of affordability, land size and growth fundamentals at this price point.

He also confirmed what we see every day in our own acquisition process: buyers who are connected to a buyers agent are the ones who are winning. Not because they are paying more, but because they are the first to know and the first to move.

The data behind the Werribee decision.

Gurminder Singh, The Realta’s Head of Research, explains exactly why our research team identified Werribee and the neighbouring suburbs, including Hoppers Crossing, as the right entry point for our clients right now.

According to him, three specific factors drove the decision:

First, this market has not performed strongly over the past three to five years. When a market underperforms for an extended period, it builds the conditions for a recovery. Our research team identified Werribee as being in that recovery phase and began purchasing for clients approximately 12 months ago, before the broader market caught on.
Second, land size matters. The property we had just secured for a client sits on 550 square metres of land and was purchased in the budget range of our client $600,000 to $610,000. The majority of that purchase price is going towards land, and land appreciates. The building depreciates. Buying where your money goes primarily into land is one of the most fundamental principles of long-term property investment, and Werribee delivers it at a price point most other Melbourne suburbs cannot.
Third, affordability is a genuine growth driver, not just a consolation prize. In a high-interest-rate environment, properties in the affordable range consistently outperform expensive properties. Buyers and investors who stick to or below the typical value of a suburb will, according to Gurminder, almost always see stronger performance over time.

Watch this on Channel 7’s YouTube channel – New data highlights Melbourne’s most affordable suburbs as housing market flatlines | 7NEWS

The Numbers Behind the Team on Camera

What Channel 7 captured was not just a media moment. It was a snapshot of a buyer’s agency that is genuinely active in the markets it recommends to clients.

Gurminder Singh, who is 34 years old (as of April 2026), personally owns eight investment properties. Over the past 36 months, he has led research on over 300 property purchases for The Realta’s clients across Australia. He does not recommend markets from behind a desk. He visits them, walks the streets, meets the local agents and cross-verifies everything the data shows with what is actually happening on the ground.

That is the approach that led to the Werribee recommendation. And it is the approach that will lead to the next one.

What This Means for Melbourne Property Investors Right Now

The Channel 7 feature was not just about one suburb. It was about a broader shift happening in Melbourne’s property market that smart investors need to understand. As highlighted in the broadcast, properties under $600,000 can still be found in Melbourne’s west and regional corridors, specifically in suburbs like Wendouree, Ballarat, Melton South, Werribee, Corio, and Norlane.

The buyers who are succeeding right now are not the ones scrolling through Realestate.com.au on a Saturday morning. They are the ones with independent expert representation, access to off-market stock and the data to move with confidence when the right opportunity appears.

If you are sitting on the sidelines waiting for the perfect moment, consider what Gurminder said on camera: the market cycle does not wait. Werribee started recovering over 12 months ago. The buyers who acted then are already ahead. The buyers who act now are still in a strong position. The buyers who wait may find the window has closed.

The Realta is currently active across Melbourne’s western corridor and 10-plus markets across Australia. Our research team analyses over 4 million data variables every month, and we invest $250,000 annually into independent research to make sure every recommendation we give to clients is backed by evidence, not opinion.

Book a Free Discovery Call With The Realta

If you would like to understand which markets our research team is currently active in and whether a property in Melbourne or elsewhere in Australia makes sense for your situation right now, book a free 60-minute Discovery Call with our team.

There is no obligation and no cost. Just an honest conversation about your goals, your budget and what the data actually shows about where the best opportunities are right now.

Author Bio

Rocky Rana

Rocky Rana is the Founder and Principal Buyers Advocate at The Realta, a licensed Melbourne buyers agency (Agency Licence No. 0921021L). He holds a Real Estate Agent Licence No. 091606L and brings strong expertise in both finance and property.

Rocky began his career at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Data and Analytics before becoming a licensed real estate agent with the Ray White Group. With over 20 years of combined experience and a successful million-dollar property portfolio across Australia, he now helps clients make smart investment decisions and purchase their first homes across Melbourne and beyond.