Suburb Overview
Avondale Heights is a well-established middle-ring suburb of Melbourne, Australia, with a population of approximately 12,388, making it a smaller community. Located approximately 11 km from the Melbourne CBD, Avondale Heights is a middle ring area in Victoria. The median household income is $82,524 per year.
Location
Key Indicators
Postcode
3034
Postcode for Avondale Heights, from a community postcode dataset cross-checked against Australia Post. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
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Population
12,388
Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Median weekly rent
$400/wk
Median weekly rent recorded at the 2021 Census — market rents have risen since, so treat this as a dated baseline, not a current figure.
Median household income
$82,524
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Distance to CBD
11 km
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Sale prices & yield
Median house price
$912,500
Median house sale price — as at 2025 (preliminary), Valuer-General Victoria (CC BY 4.0).
Median unit price
$684,500
Median unit sale price — as at 2025 (preliminary), Valuer-General Victoria (CC BY 4.0).
Housing
Median monthly mortgage
$2,167/mo
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Home type
72% houses
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Why People Like Living in Avondale Heights
- Well-connected to Melbourne at ~11 km from the CBD.
- Several schools in the area (around 3), attractive for families.
- Good green-space access with around 5 parks and reserves nearby.
- Well-serviced by public transport and major roads.
- Established streets, local shops, and schools within the neighbourhood.
Who Avondale Heights Suits
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Rent sits within an affordable share of local incomes, supporting tenant demand.
- Access to several schools nearby (around 3).
- Local parks and reserves (around 5) add to liveability.
- Solid transport links into employment hubs.
Cons
- Median mortgage sits above the Victoria state median — entry costs are stretched.
- Traffic can build during peak hours, especially on arterial roads.
Investment Insight
Avondale Heights's population of 12,388 sits 67% above the Victoria suburb median of 7,416, giving it a wider tenant and buyer catchment than the average VIC locality. Household income of $82,524/year is 13% below the Victoria median of $95,160, typically translating into lower entry prices and a tenant base more sensitive to rent increases. At the 2021 Census, rent of $400/week covered 80% of the $2,167/month median mortgage recorded at the same Census, leaving a gap of roughly $434/month at the time. Rents and repayments have both risen since — re-run the numbers with current figures before drawing conclusions. 11 km from Melbourne places Avondale Heights in the middle commuter belt, close enough for daily trips by car or rail but at a materially lower price point than inner suburbs.
Investment Tip
Middle-ring locations like this one historically reward patient holders — focus on homes near catchment-zone schools and major transport. At the 2021 Census, local rents consumed roughly 25% of household income — a dated but useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
Avondale Heights vs Victoria Median
How Avondale Heights stacks up against the median of all Victoria suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Avondale Heights sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Avondale Heights | VIC median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 12,388 | 7,416 | +67% |
| Median household income | $82,524/yr | $95,160/yr | -13% |
| Median rent (weekly, 2021 Census) | $400 | $380 | +5% |
| Median mortgage (monthly, 2021 Census) | $2,167 | $1,950 | +11% |
| Distance to CBD | 11 km | 32 km | -66% |
| Separate houses | 72% | 78% | -6pp |
Investor Checklist
Pre-inspection briefing for Avondale Heights — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
- Market depth: 12,388 residents — 167% of the VIC suburb median (7,416).
- Purchasing power: median household income $82,524/year (-13% vs Victoria suburb median of $95,160).
- Cash-flow coverage (2021 Census): $400/week rent (≈ $1,733/month) covered ~80% of the $2,167/month median mortgage at the 2021 Census — verify against current rents and rates.
- CBD access: 11 km straight-line from Melbourne (state suburb median 32 km).
- Dwelling mix: 72% separate houses — house-dominant market (vs 78% state median).
- Rate stress-test: budget ~$217/month extra for a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise on top of the $2,167/month median repayment.
- Tenant rent burden: 25% of the median household income is spent on rent — within normal range.
Investment Strategy
Moderate buy-and-hold potential: Avondale Heights's 12,388-person market and $82,524 median household income work for investors who are selective on street location and property quality rather than counting on a suburb-wide rerating.
Moderate rental coverage at the 2021 Census: rent of $400/week covered 80% of a $2,167/month mortgage, a $434/month gap bridged with equity, depreciation and tax benefits. Re-check with current rents and rates before committing.
With 72% houses in a 12,388-person market, renovation margins depend on individual street and aspect rather than any suburb-wide story — do comparable-sales analysis before committing capital.
Risk Factors
- Interest-rate sensitivity: the $2,167/month median mortgage in Avondale Heights means a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise could add roughly $217/month to repayments, reducing buyer borrowing capacity and cooling prices.
- Regulatory risk: changes to Australian tax settings (negative gearing, CGT discount, foreign-buyer surcharges, land-tax thresholds) could reshape after-tax returns in Avondale Heights regardless of local market conditions.
- Market cycle risk: property markets are cyclical, so stress-test your projections in Avondale Heights with a 10–15% price pullback scenario before committing capital — returns to date are not a guarantee of future performance.
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Start your first-home journey →2026 Outlook
Capital-growth expectations for Avondale Heights are modest for 2026 — incomes 13% below the VIC median of $95,160 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. At the 2021 Census, rental coverage ran at ~80% of the typical mortgage ($1,733/month rent vs $2,167/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. Verify against current rents and rates. Overall investor sentiment for Avondale Heights is balanced heading into the second half of 2026, based on its income, rent and mortgage profile relative to the Victoria median.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Avondale Heights a good suburb for investment?
Whether Avondale Heights suits you depends on your strategy, but the fundamentals are concrete: a population of 12,388, a median household income of $82,524/year and median weekly rent of $400. Weigh those against your goal — cash flow, capital growth, or a value-add renovation — each of which we break down with suburb-specific ABS numbers elsewhere on this page.
What drives property demand in Avondale Heights?
The main demand drivers in Avondale Heights are proximity to Melbourne (11 km), a median household income of $82,524/year, a dwelling mix that is 72% separate houses. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand.
What is the population of Avondale Heights?
Avondale Heights has a usual resident population of approximately 12,388, compared with a Victoria suburb median of 7,416 — placing it in the upper half of the state's suburbs by size. Population is the clearest proxy for market depth: more residents mean more transactions and typically a shorter average days-on-market on resale.
How far is Avondale Heights from the Melbourne CBD?
Avondale Heights sits 11 km straight-line from the Melbourne CBD. This is comfortable commuter territory, with reasonable rail and road access to the city.
What is the median rent in Avondale Heights?
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $400 in Avondale Heights, equating to approximately $20,800/year in gross rental income (state median $380/week). Market rents have typically drifted above the recorded figure — verify against current listings on realestate.com.au and Domain before making an offer.
What is the typical mortgage repayment in Avondale Heights?
The median monthly mortgage repayment in Avondale Heights is $2,167, or approximately $26,004/year (vs $1,950/month state median). Stress-test your own borrowing at rates 1–2 percentage points above today's to make sure you can still service the loan through an RBA tightening cycle.
Is Avondale Heights cash-flow positive for investors?
A median weekly rent of $400 works out to $1,733/month, covering 80% of the median mortgage repayment of $2,167/month. That leaves a $434/month shortfall (around $5,208/year before tax benefits), so a typical owner-occupier-priced property here is negatively geared. Actual cash flow depends on your deposit, loan terms, ownership costs and marginal tax rate — run the full numbers in our rental yield calculator.
What are the main risks of investing in Avondale Heights?
The main risks are interest-rate sensitivity on the $2,167 median mortgage, the broader Victoria market cycle. Each of these is covered in the Risk Factors section above with suburb-specific numbers rather than generic warnings.
How we built this Avondale Heights profile
The population, postcode, median household income, and dwelling mix on this page are real figures from the ABS 2021 Census (income is the ABS median weekly household income annualised) and Australia Post. Distance to the CBD is calculated from the suburb's ABS centroid. The Census median rent and mortgage repayment are 2021 figures and are clearly labelled as such wherever they appear — they are five years old and have moved substantially since. We do not publish an investment score or school/park counts for this suburb. See our methodology and data sources for exactly what's measured and what's estimated.