Suburb Overview
Ravenhall is a well-established middle-ring suburb of Melbourne, Australia, with a population of approximately 2,295, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 20 km from the Melbourne CBD, Ravenhall is a middle ring area in Victoria. The median household income is $50,232 per year.
Location
Key Indicators
Postcode
3023
Postcode for Ravenhall, from a community postcode dataset cross-checked against Australia Post. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
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Population
2,295
Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Median weekly rent
$1,500/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
$50,232
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Distance to CBD
20 km
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Housing
Median monthly mortgage
$2,492/mo
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Home type
117% houses
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Investment Insight
Ravenhall is a smaller community of 2,295 — about 31% of the Victoria suburb median (7,416) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Ravenhall's median household income of $50,232/year is 47% 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 weekly rent of $1,500 equated to $6,500/month — about 261% of the then-median mortgage repayment of $2,492/month. Both figures have moved substantially since 2021, so treat the ratio as a historical signal that this suburb leaned cash-flow-friendly, and verify against current listings and rates. 20 km from Melbourne places Ravenhall in the middle commuter belt, close enough for daily trips by car or rail but at a materially lower price point than inner suburbs. Separate houses make up 117% of dwellings — 39 percentage points above the Victoria median of 78% — pointing to a family-oriented, land-rich market where value is concentrated in the underlying block.
Ravenhall vs Victoria Median
How Ravenhall stacks up against the median of all Victoria suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Ravenhall sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Ravenhall | VIC median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 2,295 | 7,416 | -69% |
| Median household income | $50,232/yr | $95,160/yr | -47% |
| Median rent (weekly, 2021 Census) | $1,500 | $380 | +295% |
| Median mortgage (monthly, 2021 Census) | $2,492 | $1,950 | +28% |
| Distance to CBD | 20 km | 32 km | -37% |
| Separate houses | 117% | 78% | +39pp |
Investor Checklist
Pre-inspection briefing for Ravenhall — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
- Market depth: 2,295 residents — 31% of the VIC suburb median (7,416).
- Purchasing power: median household income $50,232/year (-47% vs Victoria suburb median of $95,160).
- Cash-flow coverage (2021 Census): $1,500/week rent (≈ $6,500/month) covered ~261% of the $2,492/month median mortgage at the 2021 Census — verify against current rents and rates.
- CBD access: 20 km straight-line from Melbourne (state suburb median 32 km).
- Dwelling mix: 117% separate houses — house-dominant market (vs 78% state median).
- Rate stress-test: budget ~$249/month extra for a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise on top of the $2,492/month median repayment.
- Tenant rent burden: 155% of the median household income is spent on rent — above the 30% stress threshold.
Investment Strategy
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 2,295 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Victoria market over full cycles.
Strong rental coverage at the 2021 Census: $1,500/week (~$6,500/month) covered 261% of the $2,492/month median mortgage, a shortfall of just $0/month. Both rents and repayments have moved since 2021 — verify current figures, though this suburb has historically leaned cash-flow-friendly.
With 117% houses in a 2,295-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 sensitivity: the $2,492/month median mortgage in Ravenhall means a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise could add roughly $249/month to repayments, reducing buyer borrowing capacity and cooling prices.
- Income vulnerability: household incomes in Ravenhall are 47% below the Victoria median ($50,232 vs $95,160), which tends to compress rent growth and increases exposure to local unemployment shocks.
- Liquidity risk: with 2,295 residents, Ravenhall 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.
- Rental stress (2021 Census): a median rent of $1,500/week consumed about 155% of the $50,232/year median household income at the Census — past the 30% stress threshold — signalling tenants may resist further rises and vacancy risk lifts in downturns. Both figures have moved since 2021; confirm with current data.
- House-dominant stock: 117% 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 Ravenhall are modest for 2026 — incomes 47% below the VIC median of $95,160 and a population of 2,295 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. At the 2021 Census, rental coverage ran at ~261% of the typical mortgage ($6,500/month rent vs $2,492/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. Verify against current rents and rates. Overall investor sentiment for Ravenhall 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 Ravenhall a good suburb for investment?
Whether Ravenhall suits you depends on your strategy, but the fundamentals are concrete: a population of 2,295, a median household income of $50,232/year and median weekly rent of $1,500. 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 Ravenhall?
The main demand drivers in Ravenhall are proximity to Melbourne (20 km), a median household income of $50,232/year, a dwelling mix that is 117% separate houses. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand.
What is the population of Ravenhall?
Ravenhall has a usual resident population of approximately 2,295, 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 Ravenhall from the Melbourne CBD?
Ravenhall sits 20 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 Ravenhall?
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $1,500 in Ravenhall, equating to approximately $78,000/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 Ravenhall?
The median monthly mortgage repayment in Ravenhall is $2,492, or approximately $29,904/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 Ravenhall cash-flow positive for investors?
A median weekly rent of $1,500 works out to $6,500/month, covering 261% of the median mortgage repayment of $2,492/month. That means rent exceeds the median repayment by roughly $4,008/month, so on these numbers Ravenhall leans cash-flow-positive before accounting for strata, council rates, insurance and maintenance. 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 Ravenhall?
The main risks are a thin buyer pool (2,295 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $2,492 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($50,232 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 Ravenhall 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.