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Suburb Insights · VIC 3461

Porcupine Ridge, VIC 3461 Property Profile

ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026

Suburb Overview

Porcupine Ridge is a regional centre in Victoria, Australia, with a population of approximately 149, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 91 km from the Melbourne CBD, Porcupine Ridge is a regional area in Victoria. The median household income is $72,280 per year.

Investment Score

33 / 100 Weak

Household incomes in Porcupine Ridge sit in a comfortable mid-range for the Victoria market. Regional positioning means lower entry costs but potentially longer hold periods for capital gains.

Location

Melbourne
Porcupine Ridge
Victoria · 3461
91 km from Melbourne CBD
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Key Indicators

Postcode
3461

Official Australia Post postcode for Porcupine Ridge. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.

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Population
149

Usual resident population at the most recent census.

Median weekly rent
$300/wk

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

Median household income
$72,280/yr

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

Distance to CBD
91 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
$1,820/mo

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

Home type
63% houses

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

Investment Insight

Porcupine Ridge is a smaller community of 149 — about 2% of the Victoria suburb median (7,416) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Porcupine Ridge's median household income of $72,280/year is 24% 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. Rent of $300/week (71% coverage of the $1,820/month median mortgage) leaves a gap of roughly $520/month that a typical investor bridges with negative gearing, depreciation and capital growth. Porcupine Ridge is 91 km from Melbourne, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand. Only 63% 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.

Porcupine Ridge vs Victoria Median

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

MetricPorcupine RidgeVIC medianΔ vs state
Population1497,416-98%
Median household income$72,280/yr$95,160/yr-24%
Median rent (weekly)$300$380-21%
Median mortgage (monthly)$1,820$1,950-7%
Distance to CBD91 km32 km+184%
Separate houses63%78%-15pp

Investor Checklist

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

Investment Strategy

Buy & Hold

Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 149 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Victoria market over full cycles.

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Rental Yield

Moderate rental coverage: rent of $300/week covers 71% of a $1,820/month mortgage, leaving a $520/month gap that an investor bridges with equity, depreciation and tax benefits.

Renovation / Flip

Only 63% 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

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30-year projections for Porcupine Ridge

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2026 Outlook

Growth: Low Rental Demand: Low Investor Sentiment: Low

Capital-growth expectations for Porcupine Ridge are modest for 2026 — incomes 24% below the VIC median of $95,160 and a population of 149 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rental coverage runs at ~71% of the typical mortgage ($1,300/month rent vs $1,820/month repayment), leaving a manageable top-up for most investors. The EquitySight investment score of 33/100 places Porcupine Ridge in the lower tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is cautious heading into the second half of 2026.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Porcupine Ridge a good suburb for investment?

Porcupine Ridge scores 33/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a weak rating. That score is driven by a population of 149, median household income of $72,280/year and median weekly rent of $300. 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 Porcupine Ridge?

The main demand drivers in Porcupine Ridge are a median household income of $72,280/year, a dwelling mix that is 63% 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 Porcupine Ridge?

Porcupine Ridge has a usual resident population of approximately 149, 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 Porcupine Ridge from the Melbourne CBD?

Porcupine Ridge sits 91 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 Porcupine Ridge?

The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $300 in Porcupine Ridge, equating to approximately $15,600/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 Porcupine Ridge?

The median monthly mortgage repayment in Porcupine Ridge is $1,820, or approximately $21,840/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 Porcupine Ridge cash-flow positive for investors?

A median weekly rent of $300 works out to $1,300/month, covering 71% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,820/month. That leaves a $520/month shortfall (around $6,240/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 Porcupine Ridge?

The main risks are a thin buyer pool (149 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,820 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($72,280 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 Porcupine Ridge 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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