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Suburb Insights · VIC 3021

Kealba, VIC 3021 Property Profile

ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026

Suburb Overview

Kealba is a well-established middle-ring suburb of Melbourne, Australia, with a population of approximately 3,226, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 14 km from the Melbourne CBD, Kealba is a middle ring area in Victoria. The median household income is $80,184 per year.

Investment Score

63 / 100 Good

Kealba has a solid income profile that supports reliable occupancy rates. Its proximity to the CBD adds a strong location premium.

Location

Melbourne
Kealba
Victoria · 3021
14 km from Melbourne CBD
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Key Indicators

Postcode
3021

Official Australia Post postcode for Kealba. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.

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Population
3,226

Usual resident population at the most recent census.

Median weekly rent
$370/wk

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

Median household income
$80,184/yr

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

Distance to CBD
14 km

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

Lifestyle & Amenities

Schools nearby
1

Estimated 1 school within or near this suburb.

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Parks & green spaces
1

Estimated 1 park and green spaces near this suburb.

Median monthly mortgage
$1,625/mo

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

Home type
90% houses

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

Why People Like Living in Kealba

Who Kealba Suits

👨‍👩‍👧FamiliesSchool count or dwelling mix is lighter here.
📊InvestorsRent covers a solid share of the median mortgage.
🏡First-home buyersEntry costs sit at or below the Victoria median.
💼ProfessionalsLonger commute to the CBD.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Rent sits within an affordable share of local incomes, supporting tenant demand.
  • Mortgage costs are lower than the Victoria median, improving cash-flow margins.
  • Solid transport links into employment hubs.

Cons

  • Fewer schools inside the suburb itself — verify catchments for neighbouring areas.
  • Traffic can build during peak hours, especially on arterial roads.

Investment Insight

Kealba is a smaller community of 3,226 — about 44% of the Victoria suburb median (7,416) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Household income of $80,184/year is 16% below the Victoria median of $95,160, typically translating into lower entry prices and a tenant base more sensitive to rent increases. Median weekly rent of $370 equates to $1,603/month — about 99% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,625/month — meaning rental income covers most of a typical owner's repayment and this is a genuine cash-flow suburb before tax benefits. 14 km from Melbourne places Kealba 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. Local rents consume roughly 24% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.

Kealba vs Victoria Median

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

MetricKealbaVIC medianΔ vs state
Population3,2267,416-56%
Median household income$80,184/yr$95,160/yr-16%
Median rent (weekly)$370$380-3%
Median mortgage (monthly)$1,625$1,950-17%
Distance to CBD14 km32 km-56%
Separate houses90%78%+12pp

Investor Checklist

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

Investment Strategy

⚠️
Buy & Hold

Moderate buy-and-hold potential: Kealba's 3,226-person market and $80,184 median household income work for investors who are selective on street location and property quality rather than counting on a suburb-wide rerating.

Rental Yield

Strong rental coverage: $370/week (~$1,603/month) covers 99% of the $1,625/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $22/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.

⚠️
Renovation / Flip

With 90% houses in a 3,226-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

Run the numbers on a Kealba property

Full Property Analysis

30-year projections for Kealba

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2026 Outlook

Growth: Low Rental Demand: Low Investor Sentiment: Moderate

Capital-growth expectations for Kealba are modest for 2026 — incomes 16% below the VIC median of $95,160 and a population of 3,226 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~99% of the typical mortgage ($1,603/month rent vs $1,625/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 63/100 places Kealba in the upper-middle tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is balanced heading into the second half of 2026.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Kealba a good suburb for investment?

Kealba scores 63/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a good rating. That score is driven by a population of 3,226, median household income of $80,184/year and median weekly rent of $370. 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 Kealba?

The main demand drivers in Kealba are proximity to Melbourne (14 km), a median household income of $80,184/year, a dwelling mix that is 90% separate houses, roughly 1 schools and 1 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 Kealba?

Kealba has a usual resident population of approximately 3,226, 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 Kealba from the Melbourne CBD?

Kealba sits 14 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 Kealba?

The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $370 in Kealba, equating to approximately $19,240/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 Kealba?

The median monthly mortgage repayment in Kealba is $1,625, or approximately $19,500/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 Kealba cash-flow positive for investors?

A median weekly rent of $370 works out to $1,603/month, covering 99% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,625/month. That leaves a $22/month shortfall (around $264/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 Kealba?

The main risks are a thin buyer pool (3,226 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,625 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($80,184 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 Kealba 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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