Suburb Overview
Lake Meran is a regional centre in Victoria, Australia, with a population of approximately 22, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 237 km from the Melbourne CBD, Lake Meran is a regional area in Victoria. The median household income is $37,700 per year.
Location
Key Indicators
Postcode
3579
Postcode for Lake Meran, from a community postcode dataset cross-checked against Australia Post. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
Australia Post Postcode Finder →
Population
22
Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Median weekly rent
$130/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
$37,700
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Distance to CBD
237 km
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Housing
Median monthly mortgage
N/A
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Home type
86% houses
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Investment Insight
Lake Meran is a smaller community of 22 — about 0% of the Victoria suburb median (7,416) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Lake Meran's median household income of $37,700/year is 60% 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 the median weekly rent was $130 (≈ $6,760/year gross at the time). Market rents have moved substantially since 2021, so benchmark against current listings before running yield numbers. Lake Meran is 237 km from Melbourne, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand.
Lake Meran vs Victoria Median
How Lake Meran stacks up against the median of all Victoria suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Lake Meran sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Lake Meran | VIC median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 22 | 7,416 | -100% |
| Median household income | $37,700/yr | $95,160/yr | -60% |
| Median rent (weekly, 2021 Census) | $130 | $380 | -66% |
| Distance to CBD | 237 km | 32 km | +641% |
| Separate houses | 86% | 78% | +8pp |
Investor Checklist
Pre-inspection briefing for Lake Meran — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
- Market depth: 22 residents — 0% of the VIC suburb median (7,416).
- Purchasing power: median household income $37,700/year (-60% vs Victoria suburb median of $95,160).
- Gross rental income: $130/week (2021 Census), ~$6,760/year.
- CBD access: 237 km straight-line from Melbourne (state suburb median 32 km).
- Dwelling mix: 86% separate houses — house-dominant market (vs 78% state median).
- Rate stress-test: model your cash flow with rates 1–2 percentage points above current to ensure the investment survives a tightening cycle.
- Tenant rent burden: 18% of the median household income is spent on rent — comfortably affordable.
Investment Strategy
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 22 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Victoria market over full cycles.
Gross rent of $130/week (~$6,760/year, 2021 Census) sets an indicative yield ceiling. Cross-check against current listings and your purchase price to confirm whether this suburb hits the 4–5% gross yield most Australian investors target.
With 86% houses in a 22-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 movements are the dominant macro risk for Lake Meran — model cash flow with a 1–2 percentage-point buffer above current rates to ensure the investment survives a tightening cycle.
- Income vulnerability: household incomes in Lake Meran are 60% below the Victoria median ($37,700 vs $95,160), which tends to compress rent growth and increases exposure to local unemployment shocks.
- Liquidity risk: with 22 residents, Lake Meran 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 237 km from the nearest CBD, Lake Meran depends on local employment rather than city-driven commuter demand, which amplifies the market's sensitivity to regional industry slowdowns.
- House-dominant stock: 86% of dwellings are separate houses, so value is concentrated in land — weather events, insurance repricing and land-tax changes hit investors here more directly than in a unit-heavy suburb.
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Start your first-home journey →2026 Outlook
Capital-growth expectations for Lake Meran are modest for 2026 — incomes 60% below the VIC median of $95,160 and a population of 22 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rents sit around $130/week (2021 Census), a baseline gross rental income of roughly $6,760/year — refine against current listings before running your numbers. Overall investor sentiment for Lake Meran 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 Lake Meran a good suburb for investment?
Whether Lake Meran suits you depends on your strategy, but the fundamentals are concrete: a population of 22, a median household income of $37,700/year and median weekly rent of $130. 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 Lake Meran?
The main demand drivers in Lake Meran are a median household income of $37,700/year, a dwelling mix that is 86% separate houses. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand.
What is the population of Lake Meran?
Lake Meran has a usual resident population of approximately 22, 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 Lake Meran from the Melbourne CBD?
Lake Meran sits 237 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 Lake Meran?
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $130 in Lake Meran, equating to approximately $6,760/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 Lake Meran?
A reliable median mortgage figure was not captured for Lake Meran. Use our loan serviceability calculator to estimate a realistic monthly repayment for your target purchase price and deposit.
Is Lake Meran cash-flow positive for investors?
Census data was not complete enough in Lake Meran to compute a clean rent-to-mortgage coverage. Use current listings to benchmark weekly rent, then plug your expected purchase price into our rental yield calculator to see whether the investment runs cash-flow positive or negative.
What are the main risks of investing in Lake Meran?
The main risks are a thin buyer pool (22 residents), interest-rate sensitivity, below-median household incomes ($37,700 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 Lake Meran 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.