Suburb Overview
Merton is a regional centre in Victoria, Australia, with a population of approximately 216, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 114 km from the Melbourne CBD, Merton is a regional area in Victoria. The median household income is $56,732 per year.
Location
Key Indicators
Postcode
3715
Postcode for Merton, from a community postcode dataset cross-checked against Australia Post. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
Australia Post Postcode Finder →
Population
216
Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Median weekly rent
$200/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
$56,732
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Distance to CBD
114 km
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Housing
Median monthly mortgage
$1,500/mo
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Home type
55% houses
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Investment Insight
Merton is a smaller community of 216 — about 3% of the Victoria suburb median (7,416) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Merton's median household income of $56,732/year is 40% 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 rent of $200/week (~$867/month) covered only 58% of the $1,500/month median mortgage recorded at the same Census — a dated snapshot, but one that suggests this suburb tilted toward capital growth rather than yield. Merton is 114 km from Melbourne, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand. Only 55% 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.
Merton vs Victoria Median
How Merton stacks up against the median of all Victoria suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Merton sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Merton | VIC median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 216 | 7,416 | -97% |
| Median household income | $56,732/yr | $95,160/yr | -40% |
| Median rent (weekly, 2021 Census) | $200 | $380 | -47% |
| Median mortgage (monthly, 2021 Census) | $1,500 | $1,950 | -23% |
| Distance to CBD | 114 km | 32 km | +256% |
| Separate houses | 55% | 78% | -23pp |
Investor Checklist
Pre-inspection briefing for Merton — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
- Market depth: 216 residents — 3% of the VIC suburb median (7,416).
- Purchasing power: median household income $56,732/year (-40% vs Victoria suburb median of $95,160).
- Cash-flow coverage (2021 Census): $200/week rent (≈ $867/month) covered ~58% of the $1,500/month median mortgage at the 2021 Census — verify against current rents and rates.
- CBD access: 114 km straight-line from Melbourne (state suburb median 32 km).
- Dwelling mix: 55% separate houses — mixed market (vs 78% state median).
- Rate stress-test: budget ~$150/month extra for a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise on top of the $1,500/month median repayment.
- 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 216 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Victoria market over full cycles.
Weak cash flow at the 2021 Census: $200/week rent covered only 58% of the $1,500/month median mortgage — a $633/month gap funded from other income. On the Census snapshot this reads as a capital-growth play, not a yield play; verify current rents before deciding.
Only 55% 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 $1,500/month median mortgage in Merton means a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise could add roughly $150/month to repayments, reducing buyer borrowing capacity and cooling prices.
- Income vulnerability: household incomes in Merton are 40% below the Victoria median ($56,732 vs $95,160), which tends to compress rent growth and increases exposure to local unemployment shocks.
- Liquidity risk: with 216 residents, Merton 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 114 km from the nearest CBD, Merton 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 Merton regardless of local market conditions.
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Start your first-home journey →2026 Outlook
Capital-growth expectations for Merton are modest for 2026 — incomes 40% below the VIC median of $95,160 and a population of 216 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. At the 2021 Census, rental coverage ran at ~58% of the typical mortgage ($867/month rent vs $1,500/month repayment), meaning investors will rely on capital growth rather than yield. Verify against current rents and rates. Overall investor sentiment for Merton 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 Merton a good suburb for investment?
Whether Merton suits you depends on your strategy, but the fundamentals are concrete: a population of 216, a median household income of $56,732/year and median weekly rent of $200. 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 Merton?
The main demand drivers in Merton are a median household income of $56,732/year, a dwelling mix that is 55% separate houses. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand.
What is the population of Merton?
Merton has a usual resident population of approximately 216, 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 Merton from the Melbourne CBD?
Merton sits 114 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 Merton?
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $200 in Merton, equating to approximately $10,400/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 Merton?
The median monthly mortgage repayment in Merton is $1,500, or approximately $18,000/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 Merton cash-flow positive for investors?
A median weekly rent of $200 works out to $867/month, covering 58% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,500/month. That leaves a $633/month shortfall (around $7,596/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 Merton?
The main risks are a thin buyer pool (216 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,500 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($56,732 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 Merton 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.