Suburb Overview
Barrys Reef is a regional centre in Victoria, Australia, with a population of approximately 39, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 70 km from the Melbourne CBD, Barrys Reef is a regional area in Victoria. The median household income is $58,500 per year.
Location
Key Indicators
Postcode
3458
Postcode for Barrys Reef, from a community postcode dataset cross-checked against Australia Post. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
Australia Post Postcode Finder →
Population
39
Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Median weekly rent
$268/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
$58,500
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Distance to CBD
70 km
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Housing
Median monthly mortgage
$1,246/mo
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Home type
64% houses
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Investment Insight
Barrys Reef is a smaller community of 39 — about 1% of the Victoria suburb median (7,416) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Barrys Reef's median household income of $58,500/year is 39% below the Victoria suburb median ($95,160) — this is an affordability play where returns lean on yield and patient capital growth rather than demographic premium. At the 2021 Census, median weekly rent of $268 equated to $1,161/month — about 93% of the then-median mortgage repayment of $1,246/month. Both figures have moved substantially since 2021, so treat the ratio as a historical signal that this suburb leaned cash-flow-friendly, and verify against current listings and rates. Barrys Reef is 70 km from Melbourne, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand.
Barrys Reef vs Victoria Median
How Barrys Reef stacks up against the median of all Victoria suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Barrys Reef sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Barrys Reef | VIC median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 39 | 7,416 | -99% |
| Median household income | $58,500/yr | $95,160/yr | -39% |
| Median rent (weekly, 2021 Census) | $268 | $380 | -29% |
| Median mortgage (monthly, 2021 Census) | $1,246 | $1,950 | -36% |
| Distance to CBD | 70 km | 32 km | +119% |
| Separate houses | 64% | 78% | -14pp |
Investor Checklist
Pre-inspection briefing for Barrys Reef — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
- Market depth: 39 residents — 1% of the VIC suburb median (7,416).
- Purchasing power: median household income $58,500/year (-39% vs Victoria suburb median of $95,160).
- Cash-flow coverage (2021 Census): $268/week rent (≈ $1,161/month) covered ~93% of the $1,246/month median mortgage at the 2021 Census — verify against current rents and rates.
- CBD access: 70 km straight-line from Melbourne (state suburb median 32 km).
- Dwelling mix: 64% separate houses — mixed market (vs 78% state median).
- Rate stress-test: budget ~$125/month extra for a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise on top of the $1,246/month median repayment.
- Tenant rent burden: 24% of the median household income is spent on rent — comfortably affordable.
Investment Strategy
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 39 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Victoria market over full cycles.
Strong rental coverage at the 2021 Census: $268/week (~$1,161/month) covered 93% of the $1,246/month median mortgage, a shortfall of just $85/month. Both rents and repayments have moved since 2021 — verify current figures, though this suburb has historically leaned cash-flow-friendly.
Only 64% of dwellings are separate houses (vs 78% VIC median) — this is a unit and townhouse market, where cosmetic flips struggle against body-corporate restrictions, thinner after-reno uplift and competing new supply.
Risk Factors
- Interest-rate sensitivity: the $1,246/month median mortgage in Barrys Reef means a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise could add roughly $125/month to repayments, reducing buyer borrowing capacity and cooling prices.
- Income vulnerability: household incomes in Barrys Reef are 39% below the Victoria median ($58,500 vs $95,160), which tends to compress rent growth and increases exposure to local unemployment shocks.
- Liquidity risk: with 39 residents, Barrys Reef has a thinner pool of buyers and tenants than larger suburbs. Expect longer days-on-market on resale and budget for potential vacancy gaps between tenancies.
- Commute distance: at 70 km from the nearest CBD, Barrys Reef depends on local employment rather than city-driven commuter demand, which amplifies the market's sensitivity to regional industry slowdowns.
- Regulatory risk: changes to Australian tax settings (negative gearing, CGT discount, foreign-buyer surcharges, land-tax thresholds) could reshape after-tax returns in Barrys Reef regardless of local market conditions.
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Start your first-home journey →2026 Outlook
Capital-growth expectations for Barrys Reef are modest for 2026 — incomes 39% below the VIC median of $95,160 and a population of 39 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. At the 2021 Census, rental coverage ran at ~93% of the typical mortgage ($1,161/month rent vs $1,246/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. Verify against current rents and rates. Overall investor sentiment for Barrys Reef is cautious 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 Barrys Reef a good suburb for investment?
Whether Barrys Reef suits you depends on your strategy, but the fundamentals are concrete: a population of 39, a median household income of $58,500/year and median weekly rent of $268. 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 Barrys Reef?
The main demand drivers in Barrys Reef are a median household income of $58,500/year, a dwelling mix that is 64% separate houses. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand.
What is the population of Barrys Reef?
Barrys Reef has a usual resident population of approximately 39, compared with a Victoria suburb median of 7,416 — placing it in the lower 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 Barrys Reef from the Melbourne CBD?
Barrys Reef sits 70 km straight-line from the Melbourne CBD. This is a regional market where CBD distance is only indicative — local industry diversity and commute alternatives matter more.
What is the median rent in Barrys Reef?
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $268 in Barrys Reef, equating to approximately $13,936/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 Barrys Reef?
The median monthly mortgage repayment in Barrys Reef is $1,246, or approximately $14,952/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 Barrys Reef cash-flow positive for investors?
A median weekly rent of $268 works out to $1,161/month, covering 93% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,246/month. That leaves a $85/month shortfall (around $1,020/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 Barrys Reef?
The main risks are a thin buyer pool (39 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,246 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($58,500 vs $95,160 state median), 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 Barrys Reef 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.