Once, $500,000 bought a house in most suburbs but that was before last year's boom that caught everyone by surprise. With prices cooling, we look at what it buys in the city, coast and country.

After more than three years on the market, South Yarra's unique Saint Cloud mansion has been withdrawn from sale. The prominent semi-circle home at the end of Kensington Road sits on one of South Yarra's biggest blocks and has views over the Yarra River to the CBD.

Can't afford the $1 million it costs to buy an entry-level apartment in the luxury Mercy Hospital redevelopment in East Melbourne?

The managing director of education-based business the Holmes Group, Gaye Dixon, has forked out almost $12 million to buy the Heyington Place mansion offloaded by corporate hotshot Susan Alberti.