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Suburb Insights · VIC 3015

Spotswood, VIC 3015 Property Profile

ABS 2021 Census · Updated 21 May 2026

Suburb Overview

Spotswood is a well-established middle-ring suburb of Melbourne, Australia, with a population of approximately 2,820, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 7 km from the Melbourne CBD, Spotswood is a middle ring area in Victoria. The median household income is $127,920 per year.

Investment Score

74 / 100 Good

Strong household incomes in Spotswood underpin solid property demand. Its proximity to the CBD adds a strong location premium.

Location

Melbourne
Spotswood
Victoria · 3015
7 km from Melbourne CBD
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Key Indicators

Postcode
3015

Official Australia Post postcode for Spotswood. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.

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Population
2,820

Usual resident population at the most recent census.

Median weekly rent
$456/wk

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

Median household income
$127,920/yr

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

Distance to CBD
7 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
$2,300/mo

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

Home type
59% houses

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

Why People Like Living in Spotswood

Who Spotswood Suits

👨‍👩‍👧FamiliesSchool count or dwelling mix is lighter here.
📊InvestorsRent covers a solid share of the median mortgage.
🏡First-home buyersPrices sit above the Victoria median — stretch goal.
💼ProfessionalsAround 7 km from the CBD with good access.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Rent sits within an affordable share of local incomes, supporting tenant demand.
  • Short distance to the CBD makes commuting straightforward.
  • Established infrastructure and existing community base.

Cons

  • Median mortgage sits above the Victoria state median — entry costs are stretched.
  • Transport options are limited — car dependency is likely.
  • Fewer schools inside the suburb itself — verify catchments for neighbouring areas.

Investment Insight

Spotswood is a smaller community of 2,820 — about 38% of the Victoria suburb median (7,416) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Median household income of $127,920/year runs 34% above the Victoria suburb median of $95,160, indicating strong purchasing power and the type of demographic profile that tends to sustain premium property prices through market cycles. Rent of $456/week (86% coverage of the $2,300/month median mortgage) leaves a gap of roughly $324/month that a typical investor bridges with negative gearing, depreciation and capital growth. At 7 km from the Melbourne CBD, Spotswood sits inside the high-demand inner ring — properties here compete directly with the city's employment, transport and amenity networks. Only 59% 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

Middle-ring locations like this one historically reward patient holders — focus on homes near catchment-zone schools and major transport. Local rents consume roughly 19% of household income — a useful sanity check on tenant affordability.

Spotswood vs Victoria Median

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

MetricSpotswoodVIC medianΔ vs state
Population2,8207,416-62%
Median household income$127,920/yr$95,160/yr+34%
Median rent (weekly)$456$380+20%
Median mortgage (monthly)$2,300$1,950+18%
Distance to CBD7 km32 km-78%
Separate houses59%78%-19pp

Investor Checklist

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

Investment Strategy

Buy & Hold

Strong buy-and-hold fundamentals: household incomes run 34% above the Victoria suburb median ($127,920 vs $95,160), and the 7 km CBD distance keeps this suburb in the primary demand zone. In Victoria, suburbs with this profile have historically clustered in the upper tercile of 10-year capital growth.

Rental Yield

Strong rental coverage: $456/week (~$1,976/month) covers 86% of the $2,300/month median mortgage repayment, so the shortfall sits at just $324/month. Investors targeting positive cash flow should shortlist this suburb.

Renovation / Flip

Only 59% 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

Run the numbers on a Spotswood property

Full Property Analysis

30-year projections for Spotswood

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2026 Outlook

Growth: Strong Rental Demand: Low Investor Sentiment: Strong

Spotswood enters 2026 with a demographic tailwind — household incomes 34% above the Victoria suburb median of $95,160 and a population of 2,820 give it the depth and purchasing power to outperform the wider VIC market over the next 12–18 months. Rental coverage runs at ~86% of the typical mortgage ($1,976/month rent vs $2,300/month repayment), keeping cash flow in positive or near-neutral territory. The EquitySight investment score of 74/100 places Spotswood in the upper-middle tier of Australian suburbs we profile, and overall investor sentiment is constructive heading into the second half of 2026.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Spotswood a good suburb for investment?

Spotswood scores 74/100 on our EquitySight investment framework — a good rating. That score is driven by a population of 2,820, median household income of $127,920/year and median weekly rent of $456. 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 Spotswood?

The main demand drivers in Spotswood are proximity to Melbourne (7 km), an above-state-median household income of $127,920/year, a dwelling mix that is 59% 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 Spotswood?

Spotswood has a usual resident population of approximately 2,820, 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 Spotswood from the Melbourne CBD?

Spotswood sits 7 km straight-line from the Melbourne CBD. This is inner-ring territory — pricing competes directly with established Melbourne employment nodes.

What is the median rent in Spotswood?

The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $456 in Spotswood, equating to approximately $23,712/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 Spotswood?

The median monthly mortgage repayment in Spotswood is $2,300, or approximately $27,600/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 Spotswood cash-flow positive for investors?

A median weekly rent of $456 works out to $1,976/month, covering 86% of the median mortgage repayment of $2,300/month. That leaves a $324/month shortfall (around $3,888/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 Spotswood?

The main risks are a thin buyer pool (2,820 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $2,300 median mortgage, 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 Spotswood 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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