Suburb Overview
Swanwater West is a regional centre in Victoria, Australia, with a population of approximately 17, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 224 km from the Melbourne CBD, Swanwater West is a regional area in Victoria. The median household income is $207,948 per year.
Location
Key Indicators
Postcode
3480
Postcode for Swanwater West, from a community postcode dataset cross-checked against Australia Post. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
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Population
17
Usual resident population at the most recent census.
Median weekly rent
$100/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
$207,948
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Distance to CBD
224 km
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Housing
Median monthly mortgage
N/A
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Home type
100% houses
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Investment Insight
Swanwater West is a smaller community of 17 — about 0% 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 $207,948/year runs 119% 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. At the 2021 Census the median weekly rent was $100 (≈ $5,200/year gross at the time). Market rents have moved substantially since 2021, so benchmark against current listings before running yield numbers. Swanwater West is 224 km from Melbourne, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand. Separate houses make up 100% of dwellings — 22 percentage points above the Victoria median of 78% — pointing to a family-oriented, land-rich market where value is concentrated in the underlying block.
Swanwater West vs Victoria Median
How Swanwater West stacks up against the median of all Victoria suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Swanwater West sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Swanwater West | VIC median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 17 | 7,416 | -100% |
| Median household income | $207,948/yr | $95,160/yr | +119% |
| Median rent (weekly, 2021 Census) | $100 | $380 | -74% |
| Distance to CBD | 224 km | 32 km | +600% |
| Separate houses | 100% | 78% | +22pp |
Investor Checklist
Pre-inspection briefing for Swanwater West — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
- Market depth: 17 residents — 0% of the VIC suburb median (7,416).
- Purchasing power: median household income $207,948/year (+119% vs Victoria suburb median of $95,160).
- Gross rental income: $100/week (2021 Census), ~$5,200/year.
- CBD access: 224 km straight-line from Melbourne (state suburb median 32 km).
- Dwelling mix: 100% separate houses — house-dominant market (vs 78% state median).
- Rate stress-test: model your cash flow with rates 1–2 percentage points above current to ensure the investment survives a tightening cycle.
- Tenant rent burden: 3% of the median household income is spent on rent — comfortably affordable.
Investment Strategy
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 17 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Victoria market over full cycles.
Gross rent of $100/week (~$5,200/year, 2021 Census) sets an indicative yield ceiling. Cross-check against current listings and your purchase price to confirm whether this suburb hits the 4–5% gross yield most Australian investors target.
With 100% houses in a 17-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 movements are the dominant macro risk for Swanwater West — model cash flow with a 1–2 percentage-point buffer above current rates to ensure the investment survives a tightening cycle.
- Premium-pricing risk: incomes 119% above the Victoria median ($207,948 vs $95,160) correlate with elevated purchase prices and compressed gross yields — enter only with a clear capital-growth thesis and a comfortable deposit.
- Liquidity risk: with 17 residents, Swanwater West 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 224 km from the nearest CBD, Swanwater West depends on local employment rather than city-driven commuter demand, which amplifies the market's sensitivity to regional industry slowdowns.
- House-dominant stock: 100% 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 Swanwater West are modest for 2026 — incomes 119% above the VIC median of $95,160 and a population of 17 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. Rents sit around $100/week (2021 Census), a baseline gross rental income of roughly $5,200/year — refine against current listings before running your numbers. Overall investor sentiment for Swanwater West 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 Swanwater West a good suburb for investment?
Whether Swanwater West suits you depends on your strategy, but the fundamentals are concrete: a population of 17, a median household income of $207,948/year and median weekly rent of $100. 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 Swanwater West?
The main demand drivers in Swanwater West are an above-state-median household income of $207,948/year, a dwelling mix that is 100% separate houses. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand.
What is the population of Swanwater West?
Swanwater West has a usual resident population of approximately 17, 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 Swanwater West from the Melbourne CBD?
Swanwater West sits 224 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 Swanwater West?
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $100 in Swanwater West, equating to approximately $5,200/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 Swanwater West?
A reliable median mortgage figure was not captured for Swanwater West. Use our loan serviceability calculator to estimate a realistic monthly repayment for your target purchase price and deposit.
Is Swanwater West cash-flow positive for investors?
Census data was not complete enough in Swanwater West to compute a clean rent-to-mortgage coverage. Use current listings to benchmark weekly rent, then plug your expected purchase price into our rental yield calculator to see whether the investment runs cash-flow positive or negative.
What are the main risks of investing in Swanwater West?
The main risks are a thin buyer pool (17 residents), interest-rate sensitivity, 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 Swanwater West 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.