Suburb Overview
Barwon Downs is a regional centre in Victoria, Australia, with a population of approximately 136, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 129 km from the Melbourne CBD, Barwon Downs is a regional area in Victoria. The median household income is $53,924 per year.
Location
Key Indicators
Postcode
3243
Postcode for Barwon Downs, from a community postcode dataset cross-checked against Australia Post. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
Australia Post Postcode Finder →
Population
136
Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Median weekly rent
$230/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
$53,924
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Distance to CBD
129 km
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Housing
Median monthly mortgage
$1,083/mo
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Home type
66% houses
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Investment Insight
Barwon Downs is a smaller community of 136 — about 2% of the Victoria suburb median (7,416) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Barwon Downs's median household income of $53,924/year is 43% 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 $230 equated to $997/month — about 92% of the then-median mortgage repayment of $1,083/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. Barwon Downs is 129 km from Melbourne, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand.
Barwon Downs vs Victoria Median
How Barwon Downs stacks up against the median of all Victoria suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Barwon Downs sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Barwon Downs | VIC median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 136 | 7,416 | -98% |
| Median household income | $53,924/yr | $95,160/yr | -43% |
| Median rent (weekly, 2021 Census) | $230 | $380 | -39% |
| Median mortgage (monthly, 2021 Census) | $1,083 | $1,950 | -44% |
| Distance to CBD | 129 km | 32 km | +303% |
| Separate houses | 66% | 78% | -12pp |
Investor Checklist
Pre-inspection briefing for Barwon Downs — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
- Market depth: 136 residents — 2% of the VIC suburb median (7,416).
- Purchasing power: median household income $53,924/year (-43% vs Victoria suburb median of $95,160).
- Cash-flow coverage (2021 Census): $230/week rent (≈ $997/month) covered ~92% of the $1,083/month median mortgage at the 2021 Census — verify against current rents and rates.
- CBD access: 129 km straight-line from Melbourne (state suburb median 32 km).
- Dwelling mix: 66% separate houses — mixed market (vs 78% state median).
- Rate stress-test: budget ~$108/month extra for a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise on top of the $1,083/month median repayment.
- Tenant rent burden: 22% of the median household income is spent on rent — comfortably affordable.
Investment Strategy
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 136 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Victoria market over full cycles.
Strong rental coverage at the 2021 Census: $230/week (~$997/month) covered 92% of the $1,083/month median mortgage, a shortfall of just $86/month. Both rents and repayments have moved since 2021 — verify current figures, though this suburb has historically leaned cash-flow-friendly.
Only 66% 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 $1,083/month median mortgage in Barwon Downs means a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise could add roughly $108/month to repayments, reducing buyer borrowing capacity and cooling prices.
- Income vulnerability: household incomes in Barwon Downs are 43% below the Victoria median ($53,924 vs $95,160), which tends to compress rent growth and increases exposure to local unemployment shocks.
- Liquidity risk: with 136 residents, Barwon Downs 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 129 km from the nearest CBD, Barwon Downs 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 Barwon Downs regardless of local market conditions.
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Start your first-home journey →2026 Outlook
Capital-growth expectations for Barwon Downs are modest for 2026 — incomes 43% below the VIC median of $95,160 and a population of 136 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. At the 2021 Census, rental coverage ran at ~92% of the typical mortgage ($997/month rent vs $1,083/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. Verify against current rents and rates. Overall investor sentiment for Barwon Downs 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 Barwon Downs a good suburb for investment?
Whether Barwon Downs suits you depends on your strategy, but the fundamentals are concrete: a population of 136, a median household income of $53,924/year and median weekly rent of $230. 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 Barwon Downs?
The main demand drivers in Barwon Downs are a median household income of $53,924/year, a dwelling mix that is 66% separate houses. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand.
What is the population of Barwon Downs?
Barwon Downs has a usual resident population of approximately 136, 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 Barwon Downs from the Melbourne CBD?
Barwon Downs sits 129 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 Barwon Downs?
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $230 in Barwon Downs, equating to approximately $11,960/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 Barwon Downs?
The median monthly mortgage repayment in Barwon Downs is $1,083, or approximately $12,996/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 Barwon Downs cash-flow positive for investors?
A median weekly rent of $230 works out to $997/month, covering 92% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,083/month. That leaves a $86/month shortfall (around $1,032/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 Barwon Downs?
The main risks are a thin buyer pool (136 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,083 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($53,924 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 Barwon Downs 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.