Get all the data you need about the real estate market in Melbourne
We update this blog post regularly, so the data you see here always reflects current Melbourne market conditions.
Melbourne's residential rental market looks very different depending on which suburb you choose and what type of property you buy.
This guide breaks down rental yields across ten inner-Melbourne neighborhoods, so you can see exactly where the numbers work and where they don't.
And if you're planning to buy a property in Melbourne, you may want to download our real estate pack about Melbourne.
A quick summary table
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Melbourne neighborhood with the best rental yield | Carlton (1-bed unit, 10.7% gross) |
| Melbourne neighborhood with the lowest rental yield | Hawthorn (2-bed house, 2.3% gross) |
| Average gross yield across Melbourne inner suburbs | ~5.6% |
| Average net yield across Melbourne inner suburbs | ~4.1% |
| Median purchase price in this Melbourne dataset | ~A$585,000 |
| Average monthly rent across Melbourne neighborhoods | ~A$2,900 |
| Average occupancy rate in Melbourne inner suburbs | ~94.8% |
| Fastest leasing Melbourne market | Brunswick (15 days average) |
| Slowest leasing Melbourne market | Docklands 3-bed (31 days average) |
| Highest occupancy Melbourne market | Brunswick (96.5%) |
| Best value high-yield Melbourne segment | Footscray 1-bed and 2-bed units |
| Yield range across Melbourne inner suburbs | 2.3% to 10.7% gross |
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Melbourne neighborhoods and property types in 2026 ranked by rental yield
This table ranks the top Melbourne neighborhoods and property types by gross rental yield.
For each neighborhood and property type, the table includes average purchase price, average monthly rent, gross rental yield, net rental yield, annual fees, average occupancy, average time to rent, main rental demand, main risk, and investment profile.
By the way, you'll find much more detailed data in our real estate pack about Melbourne.
| # | Neighborhood | Property type | Gross rental yield | Net rental yield | Average purchase price | Average monthly rent | Ownership annual fees | Average occupancy | Average time to rent | Main rental demand | Main risk | Rental Investment Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlton | 1-bed unit | 10.7% | 7.9% | A$205,000 | A$1,820 | A$4,500 | 94.5% | 22 days | International students near UniMelb | Student-tower resale and strata risk | Top Pick |
| 2 | Melbourne CBD | 1-bed unit | 8.2% | 5.8% | A$349,000 | A$2,383 | A$6,500 | 94.0% | 21 days | CBD workers and international students | High-rise strata and oversupply cycles | Top Pick |
| 3 | Southbank | 1-bed unit | 7.7% | 5.5% | A$390,000 | A$2,513 | A$7,000 | 95.0% | 22 days | Casino precinct workers and students | High owners-corp fees | Strong Potential |
| 4 | Docklands | 1-bed unit | 7.3% | 5.0% | A$415,000 | A$2,513 | A$7,600 | 94.5% | 20 days | Waterfront professionals and consultants | Investor-heavy tower turnover | Strong Potential |
| 5 | Melbourne CBD | 2-bed unit | 7.0% | 5.1% | A$542,000 | A$3,142 | A$7,800 | 93.5% | 27 days | Roommates and city professionals | Tower competition at reletting | Strong Potential |
| 6 | South Yarra | 1-bed unit | 7.0% | 5.4% | A$380,000 | A$2,232 | A$5,200 | 95.5% | 18 days | Young professionals near Chapel Street | Older apartment block capex | Strong Potential |
| 7 | Footscray | 1-bed unit | 6.9% | 5.3% | A$337,700 | A$1,950 | A$4,500 | 95.0% | 22 days | Hospital staff and first-job renters | New-build resale competition | Strong Potential |
| 8 | Brunswick | 1-bed unit | 6.6% | 5.2% | A$376,500 | A$2,080 | A$4,500 | 96.5% | 15 days | Young professionals and creatives | Small-unit resale sensitivity | Strong Potential |
| 9 | Southbank | 2-bed unit | 6.5% | 4.7% | A$585,000 | A$3,163 | A$8,200 | 94.5% | 26 days | Professional couples and roommates | Tower competition and fee drag | Good Potential |
| 10 | Richmond | 1-bed unit | 6.4% | 4.9% | A$403,750 | A$2,167 | A$5,000 | 96.0% | 17 days | Young professionals near Swan Street | New-apartment competition | Good Potential |
| 11 | St Kilda | 1-bed unit | 6.4% | 4.8% | A$375,000 | A$1,993 | A$4,800 | 96.0% | 17 days | Beachside singles and hospitality workers | Older blocks and holiday-like turnover | Good Potential |
| 12 | Footscray | 2-bed unit | 6.3% | 4.7% | A$472,500 | A$2,470 | A$5,600 | 94.5% | 24 days | Young couples and sharers | Supply pipeline near station | Strong Potential |
| 13 | Docklands | 2-bed unit | 6.0% | 4.3% | A$645,000 | A$3,250 | A$9,000 | 94.0% | 23 days | Professional sharers near offices | High strata and softer resale | Good Potential |
| 14 | Carlton | 2-bed unit | 5.7% | 4.4% | A$580,000 | A$2,773 | A$6,000 | 94.0% | 25 days | Student sharers and young academics | Older block maintenance surprises | Good Potential |
| 15 | South Yarra | 2-bed unit | 5.8% | 4.5% | A$650,000 | A$3,120 | A$6,500 | 95.0% | 21 days | Professional couples near rail | Premium pricing compresses yield | Good Potential |
| 16 | Melbourne CBD | 3-bed unit | 5.6% | 4.3% | A$1,207,500 | A$4,767 | A$10,000 | 93.0% | 29 days | Corporate sharers and affluent tenants | Luxury stock vacancy swings | Good Potential |
| 17 | Hawthorn | 1-bed unit | 5.9% | 4.6% | A$395,000 | A$1,950 | A$4,300 | 96.5% | 15 days | Students and young professionals | Older walk-up maintenance | Good Potential |
| 18 | Richmond | 2-bed unit | 5.6% | 4.4% | A$650,000 | A$3,033 | A$6,200 | 95.5% | 19 days | Professional couples near train lines | Owner-corp cost creep | Good Potential |
| 19 | Southbank | 3-bed unit | 5.2% | 3.9% | A$1,022,500 | A$4,463 | A$10,500 | 94.0% | 25 days | Corporate renters near CBD | Premium tower fee burden | Moderate Appeal |
| 20 | St Kilda | 2-bed unit | 5.2% | 4.1% | A$625,000 | A$2,730 | A$6,000 | 95.5% | 21 days | Professional couples wanting bayside living | Seasonal leasing competition | Good Potential |
| 21 | Hawthorn | 2-bed unit | 5.0% | 3.9% | A$636,500 | A$2,665 | A$5,600 | 96.0% | 18 days | Professionals near tram and train | Yield compression from premium prices | Moderate Appeal |
| 22 | Brunswick | 2-bed unit | 4.8% | 3.7% | A$645,000 | A$2,600 | A$5,800 | 96.0% | 16 days | Professional couples and sharers | Price premium limits upside | Good Potential |
| 23 | Docklands | 3-bed unit | 4.8% | 3.5% | A$1,185,000 | A$4,767 | A$12,000 | 92.5% | 31 days | Executives wanting marina lifestyle | Luxury vacancy and weak capital growth | Moderate Appeal |
| 24 | Footscray | 3-bed unit | 4.9% | 3.8% | A$743,000 | A$3,025 | A$7,300 | 94.0% | 20 days | Families wanting transport access | Larger-unit tenant pool is narrower | Good Potential |
| 25 | St Kilda | 3-bed unit | 4.9% | 3.8% | A$921,000 | A$3,792 | A$7,800 | 95.0% | 22 days | Small families wanting beach access | Narrower renter pool | Moderate Appeal |
| 26 | Brunswick | 3-bed unit | 4.2% | 3.2% | A$1,054,000 | A$3,683 | A$8,000 | 95.5% | 15 days | Young families wanting inner north | Higher ticket and thinner buyer pool | Moderate Appeal |
| 27 | Carlton | 2-bed house | 3.1% | 2.4% | A$1,202,500 | A$3,142 | A$7,000 | 95.5% | 23 days | University staff and couples | Heritage upkeep and entry cost | Moderate Appeal |
| 28 | Richmond | 2-bed house | 3.2% | 2.5% | A$1,240,000 | A$3,272 | A$7,000 | 96.5% | 16 days | High-income couples wanting terraces | Entry price caps yield | Moderate Appeal |
| 29 | South Yarra | 2-bed house | 3.0% | 2.4% | A$1,382,000 | A$3,445 | A$6,200 | 96.0% | 18 days | Affluent couples wanting walkability | High entry price | Moderate Appeal |
| 30 | Hawthorn | 2-bed house | 2.3% | 1.7% | A$1,665,000 | A$3,142 | A$7,500 | 97.0% | 15 days | Affluent tenants wanting school access | Very high entry cost | Limited Appeal |
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Key insights about rental yields in Melbourne
Insights
- Carlton 1-bed units produce a gross yield of 10.7%, which is nearly double what Melbourne CBD 1-bed units offer, despite both being inner-city apartments aimed at a similar student and professional renter base.
- In Melbourne, moving from a 1-bed to a 2-bed unit typically costs you around 1.5 to 2 percentage points of gross yield, which means size upgrades almost always come at a real cost to your return.
- Brunswick leases faster than anywhere else in this Melbourne dataset, averaging just 15 days, yet its net yields still hold above 5% for 1-bed units, making it one of the rare Melbourne suburbs where speed and income combine well.
- Southbank and Docklands look similar on paper, but Docklands 3-bed units take 31 days to lease versus 25 for Southbank, and the owners-corp fees are A$1,500 higher per year, which makes larger Docklands units a harder investment to justify.
- Footscray 1-bed units deliver a gross yield of 6.9% at a purchase price of just A$337,700, making them the most accessible high-yield entry point in the inner-Melbourne market.
- Hawthorn 2-bed houses return just 2.3% gross and 1.7% net, yet they lease in 15 days with a 97% occupancy rate, meaning the market loves them as places to live but the numbers simply don't work for income-seeking investors.
- South Yarra 1-bed units lease in just 18 days and hold a 95.5% occupancy rate, but their yield of 7.0% gross is almost entirely explained by relatively moderate pricing rather than exceptional rent levels.
- Across this Melbourne dataset, the gap between gross yield and net yield averages around 1.5 percentage points for apartments, but reaches 2 or more percentage points in high-fee towers like Docklands and Southbank.
- Melbourne inner-city houses (Carlton, Richmond, South Yarra, Hawthorn) all cluster between 2.3% and 3.2% gross yield, suggesting that once you cross into detached or terrace-style stock, you are largely making a capital-growth bet rather than an income bet.
- The only Melbourne suburbs in this dataset where net yield stays above 5% for 1-bed units are Carlton, Melbourne CBD, South Yarra, Brunswick, and Footscray, and each one achieves it for a different reason, whether entry price, low fees, or fast leasing speed.
- Melbourne CBD 1-bed units outperform CBD 2-bed units by 1.2 percentage points on gross yield and 0.7 points on net yield, which means splitting your budget into a smaller CBD unit rather than stretching to a larger one is almost always the better income move.
- Vacancy drag is often underestimated in Melbourne tower markets. Even a shift from 94% to 92% occupancy, which is the difference between Docklands 2-bed and 3-bed stock, costs a landlord roughly A$800 per year in lost rent on a unit renting at A$3,250 per month.
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About our methodology
We also believe it is important to show our reasoning. It is one of the ways we make our work solid, transparent, and rigorous, just as you will see in our real estate pack about Melbourne.
First, please note that this data is updated regularly, so what you see here reflects the current values as of today.
In order to get reliable data, we applied a strict source filter. We only used authoritative, verifiable sources, not random listings or unsupported figures. More on that point below.
For each Melbourne neighborhood and property type, we then aggregated the freshest purchase price and monthly rent data available. When possible, we cross-checked multiple sources to confirm the same range.
This allowed us to estimate rental yield before costs. That is the gross yield, based on annual rent versus purchase price.
We then estimated rental yield after costs. That is the net yield, after recurring ownership and operating expenses.
These expenses vary noticeably across Melbourne's inner suburbs. That is why two areas with similar rents can still produce very different net returns.
For example, Melbourne CBD and Southbank towers typically carry heavy owners-corporation fees, while older Carlton and Brunswick walk-up apartments have lower strata costs but may need more maintenance allowance. In high-turnover Melbourne suburbs, vacancy and tenant-changeover costs can also push net yields down further.
We also estimated ownership annual fees by combining the main recurring costs for each asset type in Melbourne. This includes items such as council rates, owners-corporation fees where relevant, landlord insurance, and a maintenance and repair allowance.
These estimates were not applied as one flat number across Melbourne. They were adjusted by neighborhood and property type to better reflect local ownership conditions across the inner suburbs.
This table should therefore be read as a structured market estimate, not as an exact guarantee of future performance. Honesty, quality, and rigor are at the core of our work, and they are also what you will find in our real estate pack about Melbourne.
What sources have we used to write this blog article?
Whether it's in our blog articles or the market analyses included in our real estate pack about Melbourne, we rely on verifiable sources and a transparent methodology.
We also aim to be fully transparent, so below we've listed the authoritative sources we used, and explained how we used them and the methods behind our estimates.
| Source | Why it's reliable | How we used it |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Bureau of Statistics - Rental Market Insights | The ABS is Australia's national statistics agency, which makes it the most credible source for broad rental-market context across the country. | We used it to frame how Melbourne's inner-city rental dynamics compare with national patterns. We also used it to check whether Melbourne inner-ring rent trends were consistent with the wider Australian statistical picture. |
| Homes Victoria Rental Report | This is the Victorian government's official private rental market report, published by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing. | We used it to benchmark metropolitan Melbourne median rent levels across different property types. We also used it as a policy-grade cross-check against asking-rent data from private property portals. |
| REIV Residential Rental Market Snapshot | The Real Estate Institute of Victoria is the main industry body for Victorian property and publishes a widely referenced rental market snapshot each quarter. | We used it to anchor March 2026 Melbourne vacancy rates and rent conditions across the metro area. We also used it to sense-check whether our suburb-level rent assumptions looked realistic against wider Melbourne benchmarks. |
| SQM Research - Melbourne Weekly Rents | SQM Research is a long-established Australian property research house with a transparent and frequently updated rent and vacancy time series. | We used it to cross-check the direction and level of Melbourne-wide asking rents. We also used it to make sure neighborhood rent assumptions stayed aligned with current market momentum across the city. |
| Cotality (CoreLogic) - Mapping the Market | Cotality is one of Australia's most established housing data providers, and its suburb mapping tool is widely used for market-level comparison by investors and analysts. | We used it to cross-check suburb-level yield patterns and understand the risk differences between Melbourne neighborhoods. We also used it to decide which inner-Melbourne suburbs were most relevant for active investors in 2026. |
| realestate.com.au - Melbourne CBD suburb profile | realestate.com.au is one of Australia's largest property portals, and its suburb profiles aggregate large volumes of both listing and transaction data. | We used it for Melbourne CBD price medians, rent medians, renter interest levels, and average time to rent by property type. We also used it to model CBD gross yields and build occupancy assumptions for the central city. |
| realestate.com.au - Southbank suburb profile | This profile draws on one of the largest active listing datasets for Southbank residential property and is updated continuously. | We used it for Southbank price medians, rent medians, and leasing speed by unit type. We also used it to reflect Southbank's higher tower owners-corporation fees in our net yield estimate. |
| realestate.com.au - Carlton suburb profile | Carlton's suburb profile gives deep data on a market heavily shaped by student demand, small apartments, and proximity to the University of Melbourne. | We used it for Carlton price medians, rent medians, and leasing speed by property type. We also used it to understand how much 1-bed stock dominates Carlton's yield profile compared with larger apartments. |
| realestate.com.au - Brunswick suburb profile | Brunswick is one of inner Melbourne's most searched renter-owner crossover suburbs, and its profile is particularly data-rich on leasing activity. | We used it for Brunswick prices, rents, renter interest levels, and leasing speed by unit type. We also used it to assess how strong tenant absorption is in the inner north of Melbourne. |
| realestate.com.au - Footscray suburb profile | Footscray has become a significant value-plus-yield market in Melbourne's inner west, and this profile tracks its activity at a suburb level. | We used it for Footscray apartment prices, rents, and time to rent by property type. We also used it to test whether affordable inner-west stock still outperforms on yield after typical ownership costs are applied. |
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