Suburb Overview
Lakes Entrance is a regional centre in Victoria, Australia, with a population of approximately 5,145, making it a smaller community. Located approximately 267 km from the Melbourne CBD, Lakes Entrance is a regional area in Victoria. The median household income is $45,032 per year.
Location
Key Indicators
Postcode
3909
Postcode for Lakes Entrance, from a community postcode dataset cross-checked against Australia Post. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
Australia Post Postcode Finder →
Population
5,145
Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Median weekly rent
$252/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
$45,032
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Distance to CBD
267 km
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Sale prices & yield
Median house price
$475,000
Median house sale price — as at 2025 (preliminary), Valuer-General Victoria (CC BY 4.0).
Median unit price
$640,000
Median unit sale price — as at 2025 (preliminary), Valuer-General Victoria (CC BY 4.0).
Housing
Median monthly mortgage
$1,227/mo
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Home type
61% houses
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Why People Like Living in Lakes Entrance
- Regional location about 267 km from Melbourne.
- Local parks and reserves (around 2) within easy reach.
- Well-serviced by public transport and major roads.
- Country-town feel with lower density and slower pace of life.
Who Lakes Entrance Suits
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Mortgage costs are lower than the Victoria median, improving cash-flow margins.
- Solid transport links into employment hubs.
- Lower purchase prices and more land for the money.
Cons
- Long distance to the CBD (267 km) — plan for commute time or local employment.
- Fewer schools inside the suburb itself — verify catchments for neighbouring areas.
Investment Insight
Lakes Entrance is a smaller community of 5,145 — about 69% of the Victoria suburb median (7,416) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Lakes Entrance's median household income of $45,032/year is 53% 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, rent of $252/week covered 89% of the $1,227/month median mortgage recorded at the same Census, leaving a gap of roughly $135/month at the time. Rents and repayments have both risen since — re-run the numbers with current figures before drawing conclusions. Lakes Entrance is 267 km from Melbourne, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand. Only 61% 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
Regional property can deliver strong cash-flow yields but liquidity is tighter — plan for longer hold periods and verify local employment stability. At the 2021 Census, local rents consumed roughly 29% of household income — a dated but useful sanity check on tenant affordability.
Lakes Entrance vs Victoria Median
How Lakes Entrance stacks up against the median of all Victoria suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Lakes Entrance sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Lakes Entrance | VIC median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 5,145 | 7,416 | -31% |
| Median household income | $45,032/yr | $95,160/yr | -53% |
| Median rent (weekly, 2021 Census) | $252 | $380 | -34% |
| Median mortgage (monthly, 2021 Census) | $1,227 | $1,950 | -37% |
| Distance to CBD | 267 km | 32 km | +734% |
| Separate houses | 61% | 78% | -17pp |
Investor Checklist
Pre-inspection briefing for Lakes Entrance — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
- Market depth: 5,145 residents — 69% of the VIC suburb median (7,416).
- Purchasing power: median household income $45,032/year (-53% vs Victoria suburb median of $95,160).
- Cash-flow coverage (2021 Census): $252/week rent (≈ $1,092/month) covered ~89% of the $1,227/month median mortgage at the 2021 Census — verify against current rents and rates.
- CBD access: 267 km straight-line from Melbourne (state suburb median 32 km).
- Dwelling mix: 61% separate houses — mixed market (vs 78% state median).
- Rate stress-test: budget ~$123/month extra for a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise on top of the $1,227/month median repayment.
- Tenant rent burden: 29% of the median household income is spent on rent — within normal range.
Investment Strategy
Limited buy-and-hold upside: household incomes 53% below the VIC median ($45,032 vs $95,160) means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Victoria market over full cycles.
Strong rental coverage at the 2021 Census: $252/week (~$1,092/month) covered 89% of the $1,227/month median mortgage, a shortfall of just $135/month. Both rents and repayments have moved since 2021 — verify current figures, though this suburb has historically leaned cash-flow-friendly.
Only 61% 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 $1,227/month median mortgage in Lakes Entrance means a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise could add roughly $123/month to repayments, reducing buyer borrowing capacity and cooling prices.
- Income vulnerability: household incomes in Lakes Entrance are 53% below the Victoria median ($45,032 vs $95,160), which tends to compress rent growth and increases exposure to local unemployment shocks.
- Commute distance: at 267 km from the nearest CBD, Lakes Entrance 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 Lakes Entrance regardless of local market conditions.
- Market cycle risk: property markets are cyclical, so stress-test your projections in Lakes Entrance with a 10–15% price pullback scenario before committing capital — returns to date are not a guarantee of future performance.
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Start your first-home journey →2026 Outlook
Capital-growth expectations for Lakes Entrance are modest for 2026 — incomes 53% below the VIC median of $95,160 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. At the 2021 Census, rental coverage ran at ~89% of the typical mortgage ($1,092/month rent vs $1,227/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. Verify against current rents and rates. Overall investor sentiment for Lakes Entrance 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 Lakes Entrance a good suburb for investment?
Whether Lakes Entrance suits you depends on your strategy, but the fundamentals are concrete: a population of 5,145, a median household income of $45,032/year and median weekly rent of $252. 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 Lakes Entrance?
The main demand drivers in Lakes Entrance are a median household income of $45,032/year, a dwelling mix that is 61% separate houses. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand.
What is the population of Lakes Entrance?
Lakes Entrance has a usual resident population of approximately 5,145, 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 Lakes Entrance from the Melbourne CBD?
Lakes Entrance sits 267 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 Lakes Entrance?
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $252 in Lakes Entrance, equating to approximately $13,104/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 Lakes Entrance?
The median monthly mortgage repayment in Lakes Entrance is $1,227, or approximately $14,724/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 Lakes Entrance cash-flow positive for investors?
A median weekly rent of $252 works out to $1,092/month, covering 89% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,227/month. That leaves a $135/month shortfall (around $1,620/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 Lakes Entrance?
The main risks are interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,227 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($45,032 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 Lakes Entrance 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.