Suburb Overview
Wail is a regional centre in Victoria, Australia, with a population of approximately 44, making it a boutique locality. Located approximately 292 km from the Melbourne CBD, Wail is a regional area in Victoria. The median household income is $68,224 per year.
Location
Key Indicators
Postcode
3401
Postcode for Wail, from a community postcode dataset cross-checked against Australia Post. A postcode may cover multiple suburbs.
Australia Post Postcode Finder →
Population
44
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
$68,224
Annual median household income (before tax) across all households.
Distance to CBD
292 km
Straight-line distance from the suburb centroid to the nearest capital city CBD. Actual driving distance will be longer.
Housing
Median monthly mortgage
$1,290/mo
Monthly median mortgage repayment for households currently paying off a mortgage.
Home type
80% houses
Proportion of separate houses versus units, townhouses, and other home types. Useful for investors assessing rental demand mix.
Investment Insight
Wail is a smaller community of 44 — about 1% of the Victoria suburb median (7,416) — so investors should factor in the narrower buyer pool and longer average time-on-market. Wail's median household income of $68,224/year is 28% 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 67% of the $1,290/month median mortgage recorded at the same Census — a dated snapshot, but one that suggests this suburb tilted toward capital growth rather than yield. Wail is 292 km from Melbourne, so the local market tracks regional employment and lifestyle drivers more than CBD-driven commuter demand.
Wail vs Victoria Median
How Wail stacks up against the median of all Victoria suburbs in our dataset. Positive values mean Wail sits above the state median; negative means below.
| Metric | Wail | VIC median | Δ vs state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 44 | 7,416 | -99% |
| Median household income | $68,224/yr | $95,160/yr | -28% |
| Median rent (weekly, 2021 Census) | $200 | $380 | -47% |
| Median mortgage (monthly, 2021 Census) | $1,290 | $1,950 | -34% |
| Distance to CBD | 292 km | 32 km | +813% |
| Separate houses | 80% | 78% | +2pp |
Investor Checklist
Pre-inspection briefing for Wail — every item is derived from public datasets, with full citations in our data sources page.
- Market depth: 44 residents — 1% of the VIC suburb median (7,416).
- Purchasing power: median household income $68,224/year (-28% vs Victoria suburb median of $95,160).
- Cash-flow coverage (2021 Census): $200/week rent (≈ $867/month) covered ~67% of the $1,290/month median mortgage at the 2021 Census — verify against current rents and rates.
- CBD access: 292 km straight-line from Melbourne (state suburb median 32 km).
- Dwelling mix: 80% separate houses — house-dominant market (vs 78% state median).
- Rate stress-test: budget ~$129/month extra for a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise on top of the $1,290/month median repayment.
- Tenant rent burden: 15% of the median household income is spent on rent — comfortably affordable.
Investment Strategy
Limited buy-and-hold upside: a small population of 44 means liquidity is thin and capital growth tends to lag the wider Victoria market over full cycles.
Moderate rental coverage at the 2021 Census: rent of $200/week covered 67% of a $1,290/month mortgage, a $423/month gap bridged with equity, depreciation and tax benefits. Re-check with current rents and rates before committing.
With 80% houses in a 44-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 $1,290/month median mortgage in Wail means a 1-percentage-point RBA rate rise could add roughly $129/month to repayments, reducing buyer borrowing capacity and cooling prices.
- Income vulnerability: household incomes in Wail are 28% below the Victoria median ($68,224 vs $95,160), which tends to compress rent growth and increases exposure to local unemployment shocks.
- Liquidity risk: with 44 residents, Wail 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 292 km from the nearest CBD, Wail 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 Wail regardless of local market conditions.
Run the numbers on a Wail property
Walk the journey to a place like Wail
Seven guided stops — government schemes compared for your exact numbers, a real budget, suburb shortlisting and every contract deadline tracked. Free, no signup to start.
Start your first-home journey →2026 Outlook
Capital-growth expectations for Wail are modest for 2026 — incomes 28% below the VIC median of $95,160 and a population of 44 suggest gains will lag headline metro markets. At the 2021 Census, rental coverage ran at ~67% of the typical mortgage ($867/month rent vs $1,290/month repayment), leaving a manageable top-up for most investors. Verify against current rents and rates. Overall investor sentiment for Wail is cautious heading into the second half of 2026, based on its income, rent and mortgage profile relative to the Victoria median.
Share your experience of Wail
Lived in Wail? Help other investors with an honest 100-word review. Sign-in required; all reviews are manually moderated before they appear.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wail a good suburb for investment?
Whether Wail suits you depends on your strategy, but the fundamentals are concrete: a population of 44, a median household income of $68,224/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 Wail?
The main demand drivers in Wail are a median household income of $68,224/year, a dwelling mix that is 80% separate houses. Together these shape both owner-occupier and tenant demand.
What is the population of Wail?
Wail has a usual resident population of approximately 44, 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 Wail from the Melbourne CBD?
Wail sits 292 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 Wail?
The most recent census recorded a median weekly rent of $200 in Wail, 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 Wail?
The median monthly mortgage repayment in Wail is $1,290, or approximately $15,480/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 Wail cash-flow positive for investors?
A median weekly rent of $200 works out to $867/month, covering 67% of the median mortgage repayment of $1,290/month. That leaves a $423/month shortfall (around $5,076/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 Wail?
The main risks are a thin buyer pool (44 residents), interest-rate sensitivity on the $1,290 median mortgage, below-median household incomes ($68,224 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 Wail 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.