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Suburb Insights · VIC 3146

Glen Iris, VIC 3146 Property Profile

ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026

Suburb Overview

Glen Iris is a well-established middle-ring suburb of Melbourne, Australia, with a population of approximately 26,131, making it a sizeable community. Located approximately 10 km from the Melbourne CBD, Glen Iris is a middle ring area in Victoria. The median household income is $129,532 per year.

Investment Score

81 / 100 Strong

Strong household incomes in Glen Iris underpin solid property demand. The short commute to the city centre is a key demand driver.

Location

Melbourne
Glen Iris
Victoria · 3146
10 km from Melbourne CBD
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Key Indicators

Postcode
3146

Official Australia Post postcode for Glen Iris. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.

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Population
26,131

Usual resident population at the most recent census.

Median weekly rent
$450/wk

Weekly median rent for occupied homes. Live rental data integration coming soon.

Median household income
$129,532/yr

Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.

Distance to CBD
10 km

Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.

Lifestyle & Amenities

Schools nearby
7

Estimated 7 schools within or near this suburb.

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Parks & green spaces
10

Estimated 10 parks and green spaces near this suburb.

Median monthly mortgage
$2,830/mo

Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.

Home type
49% houses

Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.

Why People Like Living in Glen Iris

Who Glen Iris Suits

👨‍👩‍👧FamiliesSchool count or dwelling mix is lighter here.
📊InvestorsRental coverage trails the state average.
🏡First-home buyersPrices sit above the Victoria median — stretch goal.
💼ProfessionalsAround 10 km from the CBD with good access.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Rent sits within an affordable share of local incomes, supporting tenant demand.
  • Access to several schools nearby (around 7).
  • Local parks and reserves (around 10) add to liveability.
  • Solid transport links into employment hubs.
  • Short distance to the CBD makes commuting straightforward.

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

With 26,131 residents, Glen Iris is one of Victoria's more populous suburbs — roughly 3.5× the state median of 7,416 — giving it a deep buyer and tenant pool that typically supports higher transaction volumes and shorter average days on market. Median household income of $129,532/year runs 36% above the Victoria suburb median of $95,160, indicating strong purchasing power and the type of demographic profile that tends to sustain premium property prices through market cycles. Median rent of $450/week (~$1,950/month) covers only 69% of the median mortgage of $2,830/month — the remaining $880/month must be funded from other income, so this suburb tilts toward capital growth rather than yield. At 10 km from the Melbourne CBD, Glen Iris sits inside the high-demand inner ring — properties here compete directly with the city's employment, transport and amenity networks. Only 49% of dwellings are separate houses (vs 78% state median), so this is a unit-heavy market where body-corporate decisions and strata supply meaningfully shape investor returns.

Investment Tip

This suburb suits long-term investors looking for a balance of rental yield and capital growth. Schools and transport underpin family demand. Local rents consume roughly 18% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.

Glen Iris vs Victoria Median

How Glen Iris stacks up against the median of all Victoria suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Glen Iris sits above the state median; negative means below.

MetricGlen IrisVIC medianΔ vs state
Population26,1317,416+252%
Median household income$129,532/yr$95,160/yr+36%
Median rent (weekly)$450$380+18%
Median mortgage (monthly)$2,830$1,950+45%
Distance to CBD10 km32 km-69%
Separate houses49%78%-29pp

Investor Checklist

Pre-inspection briefing for Glen Iris — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.

Investment Strategy

Buy & Hold

Strong buy-and-hold fundamentals: household incomes run 36% above the Victoria suburb median ($129,532 vs $95,160), and the 10 km CBD distance keeps this suburb in the primary demand zone. In Victoria, suburbs with this profile have historically clustered in the upper tercile of 10-year capital growth.

⚠️
Rental Yield

Moderate rental coverage: rent of $450/week covers 69% of a $2,830/month mortgage, leaving a $880/month gap that an investor bridges with equity, depreciation and tax benefits.

Renovation / Flip

Only 49% 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

Run the numbers on a Glen Iris property

Full Property Analysis

30-year projections for Glen Iris

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2026 Outlook

Growth: Strong Rental Demand: Strong Investor Sentiment: Strong

Glen Iris enters 2026 with a demographic tailwind — household incomes 36% above the Victoria suburb median of $95,160 and a population of 26,131 give it the depth and purchasing power to outperform the wider VIC market over the next 12–18 months. Rental coverage runs at ~69% of the typical mortgage ($1,950/month rent vs $2,830/month repayment), leaving a manageable top-up for most investors. The EquitySight investment score of 81/100 places Glen Iris in the top tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is constructive heading into the second half of 2026.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Glen Iris a good suburb for investment?

Glen Iris scores 81/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a strong rating. That score is driven by a population of 26,131, median household income of $129,532/year and median weekly rent of $450. Whether it fits your portfolio depends on whether you are targeting cash flow, capital growth, or a value-add renovation — all three are scored with suburb-specific numbers elsewhere on this page.

What drives property demand in Glen Iris?

The main demand drivers in Glen Iris are proximity to Melbourne (10 km), an above-state-median household income of $129,532/year, a dwelling mix that is 49% separate houses, roughly 7 schools and 10 parks within the catchment. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand and are the factors we weight most heavily in the suburb's investment score.

What is the population of Glen Iris?

Glen Iris has a usual resident population of approximately 26,131, 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 Glen Iris from the Melbourne CBD?

Glen Iris sits 10 km straight-line from the Melbourne CBD. This is inner-ring territory — pricing competes directly with established Melbourne employment nodes.

What is the median rent in Glen Iris?

The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $450 in Glen Iris, equating to approximately $23,400/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 Glen Iris?

The median monthly mortgage repayment in Glen Iris is $2,830, or approximately $33,960/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 Glen Iris cash-flow positive for investors?

A median weekly rent of $450 works out to $1,950/month, covering 69% of the median mortgage repayment of $2,830/month. That leaves a $880/month shortfall (around $10,560/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 Glen Iris?

The main risks are interest-rate sensitivity on the $2,830 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 Glen Iris profile

Every number on this page comes from the ABS 2021 Census of Population and Housing, Australia Post postcode reference data, and OpenStreetMap amenity tiles. The investment score, strategy verdicts, and comparison table are computed deterministically from those inputs — no opinion, no estimation. See our full methodology and the data sources and licences for the formulas we use.

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