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Outer Melbourne gems boasting lifestyle appeal have become buyers’ most popular picks during the pandemic.

Seaside suburbs Edithvale and Red Hill have joined picture-perfect Emerald and Lysterfield as new entrants on realestate.com.au’s 100 most popular Australian suburbs, based on average views per listing.

Fairfield was the only inner Melbourne suburb to jump into the top 100, landing at No. 25.

Edithvale had the largest jump in ranking, climbing from No. 190 to No. 72 in the past year.

O’Brien Real Estate Chelsea agent Kimberley Ferguson said hot competition had spurred on record sales in the suburb recently.

“In the past 12 months we’ve seen beachside sales in Edithvale that were over $1.6m,” Ms Ferguson said.

“People priced out of Mentone and Parkdale have realised they actually prefer Edithvale, because it’s a little more quiet and it has great amenities like schools, golf courses, shops and cafes.”

She said family buyers who needed to upsize and move into Edithvale for schools had kept the market afloat during coronavirus.

Downsizers who were keen to make a sea-change from inland Melbourne suburbs had shown interest in beachfront properties too.

Established eastern suburbs, including Box Hill South, Nunawading, Vermont South, Ringwood and Box Hill North dropped out of the top 100 in the past year.

Forest Hill plummeted furthest down the list, from Australia’s 25th most popular suburb down to 179th position.

Barry Plant Whitehorse director Mark Di Giulio said middle eastern suburbs like Bulleen, Doncaster and Balwyn had taken demand away from areas slightly farther out.

“As prices shift in the market, buyers who couldn’t afford the inner (to middle) east are now able to stretch their dollar further than they could before,” Mr Di Giulio said.

Eased real estate restrictions had driven a return of activity in recent weeks, he added.

Realestate.com.au chief economist Nerida Conisbee noted that “strong declines in overseas searches from China” coupled with “zero levels of migration” was hurting the outer east.

“The suburbs that have moved out of the top 100 tend to have high proportions of overseas-born residents, particularly from China,” Ms Conisbee said.

“For anyone looking to buy in these suburbs however, now would be a good time to look as they are highly desirable in non-COVID times.”