Carter's Real Estate managing director Richard Carter, who is based in Ringwood, said

EastLink was influencing the boom.

"A lot of buyers are coming to Maroondah because they have the flexibility of EastLink. It is frequently used in advertising and buyers are always mentioning it."

Graeme Oldmeadow, of Ray White Noble Park, said EastLink had opened the door to many of the forgotten south-eastern suburbs. "The main thing is we are seeing more people settle in the Greater Dandenong area because of the accessibility.

"Before, we would only have people who work in the city wanting to live here, but now we are getting interest from people who work in Croydon or Ringwood.

"All of a sudden, people want to live here because of the accessibility."