You might want to look at Kingsbury. 1/4 of it borders Reservoir, the rest borders Bundoora (shares same post code with Bundoora). It runs along Plenty Rd, which has trams that you can take into the city. Or you can walk across to the bus station at Latrobe Uni and take a bus down to Macleod or Heidelberg Station (This line is more reliable than the Epping line).
If you have young children, there are two primary schools, one state and one Catholic. There are several parks that are easily accessible. The better play equipment is at Bundoora Park.
If you like golf, there is a golf course and a driving range in walking distance.
Summer Hill shops are very close, there is both Safeway and Coles. There was a Target, but that closed down recently. At safeway don't expect any form of speed or service when you shop, quite bad attitudes. At Coles, it really depends on who serves you, but there is always 1 or 2 that shine at the checkout for you. Mind you, the vegetables are very average here.
Prices in Kingsbury have settled a little, so now might be a good time to look and find somewhat of a bargain.
ohh one last thing, for the most part, the avg block size in Kingsbury, around 465-550, is much smaller than Reservoir. There are some large blocks of 700+, but are never cheap and are certainly outside your limit.
Anyway, good luck with your house hunt.
Ostraylia.
