Could you afford to live on Ramsay Street?
Ironically, there's very little drama on the real Ramsay Street, but peaceful living comes at a price.
I have a confession. I have never seen a single Neighbours episode. I know almost nothing about the iconic soap other than that, after 37 years, it's coming to an end.
I am, however, renting and always eager to see if there's some way I can wrangle my way onto the property market.
So rather than begin watching 1 of its nearly 9,000 episodes, I decided to find out how much it might cost to live in Pin Oak Court in Vermont South, Melbourne, also known as Ramsay Street, and roped in a few Finder experts to help me.
Claim a piece of television history – at what price?
In return for giving up parts of their home, real-life residents of "Ramsay Street" have been receiving a regular payment to allow filming.
With the show finishing up this week, and the payments stopping, some residents have decided now is a good time to sell.
3 Pin Oak Court, better known as 30 Ramsay Street – home to Jim Robinson, Lou Carpenter and Toadie Rebecchi – is currently up for sale for between $1.2 and $1.3 million.
The 4-bedroom home is being advertised as "a chance to claim a piece of television history in this world famous cul de sac".
Adam Docking, of real estate agency MJ Docking & Associates, said that there tends to be a higher level of interest for properties in Pin Oak Court.
"Properties in Pin Oak Court will often sell for more than other areas of Vermont South, largely because of the street's reputation and its history within the local community," Docking said.
"Not everyone can say they live on the same street that helped launch the careers of Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Guy Pearce and Margot Robbie," he added.
We crunched the numbers using Finder's home loan repayment calculator. Assuming the house sells for the upper end of the asking price of $1.3 million, your repayments would look something like this:
- $1.3 million purchase price
- 20% of $260,000
- Loan of $1.04 million
- Variable rate at 2.64%*
- Principal and interest loan
- Monthly repayment of $4,194
* Currently the lowest rate available on our panel of home loan lenders
Fun fact: The median house price in the suburb for a 4-bedroom house is $1.46 million, according to Domain. However, 1 Pin Oak Court (Toadfish's house) set a street record last year when it sold for $1.6 million.
So there you have it: You could live in Ramsay Street for around $1,000 a week, provided you have a deposit of around a quarter of a million in the bank to buy!
Australia's most disaster-prone street
Even for a soap, Neighbours had some pretty wild plot lines. There were murders, arson, fires, gas explosions and even a tornado.
If all of these events had actually occurred in the real life suburb where the soap is filmed, the entire area would almost certainly be deemed uninsurable by most Australian providers.
It's a shame, not because I wouldn't have enjoyed watching Susan Kennedy frantically shopping around for home insurance, but because skyrocketing insurance prices are a genuine problem for many homeowners.
According to a 2022 report by the Climate Council, up to 1 in 25 homes will be uninsurable by 2030. Frequent natural disasters such as floods, storms and bushfires over the last few years have been largely responsible for the increase in prices.
Fortunately though, Vermont South isn't in a high-risk area. Its main problem isn't tornados, murderers or arsonists – it's its lack of nightlife, at least according to homely.com.au.
That's good news for non-partygoers hoping to buy on Pin Oak Court. Based on quotes we got from Budget Direct , a home and contents insurance policy costs $1,516 per year, or $148 a month which is close to the average cost.
$148 a month is still a fairly big monthly expense though. Before buying any property then, it's worth taking home insurance costs into consideration.
Check to see if the area is prone to floods or bushfires because this will have a big impact on how much you pay. You can do this through the area's local council. Some states also have flood maps:
Think you're paying too much for your home insurance? Get a quote today using our free comparison service to find out, or check out our best home insurance page.
3 Pin Court images courtesy of MJ Docking & Associates
