Hi Zos
Given I have bought in Frankston, I'm obviously biased. I'm also not from Melbourne and still haven't been to Frankston. My understanding of the Melb property market is based on a couple stays in the CBD and desktop research / dd. So you probably should take my comments with a grain of salt and dilute it down with some ocean water from Frankston beach
I had a budget of $350k at the start of the year. At that time, Frankston was really a no brainer as my partner would call it. Where else within 45min of a major CBD in Aus can you get a house on 600sqm+, relatively close to the beach, access to trains and freeway, hospitals, shopping centre, and right next door to a suburb with significantly higher median (F Sth).
I looked at regional options too, but at the $350k mark Frankston is more compelling for me personally.
My immediate response to where else for $400k would be Seaford, Frankston Nth for a house. Seaford sounds nicer than Frankston and there are still a couple houses around $400k mark if you're quick. F Nth you can buy something for early $300k - at > 20% discount entry now, it should work out ok in the long term esp if you pick a good pocket. As demand for Frankston grows (whether it's due to affordability, gentrification etc), F nth will follow. It's the dominoes effect. Yes it might take a looooong time but it will happen eventually.
I would also consider 2br units as close to Melb CBD as possible on a train line. If my experience in Sydney is anything to go by, it can work out very well from CG and CF (better yield) perspectives.
I managed to get in at $350k but I agree with fellow SS'ers that the market has moved a little, so if I was looking now I may need to increase budget to $400k. $50k is not a huge game changer, esp when you plan to hold long term. It will cost you $10k (20%) now which is relatively modest in property.
I don't know if this post will put me into the category of a Frankston spruiker ... I'm not arrogant enough to think my 2c could spruike a market as big as Fston! I just want to share my own personal view which I'm sure everyone will vet themselves. It doesn't really bother me what other people do. If people starts to take notice and buys in the area and drives up the price, great stuff. If noone else is interested that's fine for me too because I'll be able to buy again at the low price point. To me the area has enough fundamentals to fit my buying criteria, so I don't tend to over analyse too much esp when it's a long term hold.
If you do buy in Frankston and need a property manager, drop me a message I would highly recommend the lady I'm using now.
All the best with your search