This is a turning-point case, not a track record. Unit prices have gone sideways for a decade (+0.80% over ten years), but the slide has stalled (-0.01% last quarter) and supply is thin: new listings are just 0.22% of homes a month with 1.84 months of stock, well under the ~3-month mark where buyers and sellers are evenly matched. Auctions are clearing at 72.8%.
Rental Demand
Confident because rents are up +42.83% over ten years and another +6.35% in the past year, with vacancy at 1.60%. Underneath it is a renter-heavy, growing population: 51.4% of homes are rented (2021 Census), and the area added 2,190 people in 2025 to reach 114,434 — back above its pre-COVID peak.
Why This Suits You
Port Phillip units suit first-time, government-worker and SMSF investors because:
Affordable entry point — a typical unit at $765K sits under the $1M mark, a few kilometres from the Melbourne CBD
Low-maintenance hold — a 4.64% gross yield with vacancy at 1.60%, so the property should rarely sit empty
Conservative risk profile — the top socio-economic score (IRSAD 10/10), full bushfire safety (100) and no reliance on mining or farming (MADI 100)
Trade-offs
The main one is that unit values have lagged — down 5.67% over five years and 16.2% behind their own long-run trend (GPD). The reason is depth of supply: units outnumber houses (unit-to-house ratio 73%) and 872 of the 895 homes approved in the past year were apartments or townhouses, so generic stock competes with new builds. That's why the asset matters more than the suburb here — favour scarcer, older low-rise stock. Separately, flood safety is only 63/100, so check the building's position and insurance before buying.
All four charts sourced directly from the City of Port Phillip's public economy.id / profile.id profiles (informed decisions). The unemployment comparator is Victoria, the benchmark shown on the source chart.
Market & insurance risk
Higher = more favourable
EDI
66
Variety of industries & employment sources locally
MADI
100
Low reliance on volatile resource sectors
Bushfire Safety
100
Based on vegetation, topography & history
Flood Safety
63
Based on topography, watercourses & history
Demand profile — bedrooms × property type
3 Bed
2 Bed
4 Bed
5 Bed
1 Bed
3-bed homes lead buyer & renter search activity, followed by 2- and 4-bed
Market trends
Historical data only
Headline values: $765K to buy, $684pw to rent, a 4.64% gross yield. Over the past decade, unit prices have moved just +0.80% while rents have climbed +42.83% — rents have far outpaced prices, which is why yield has risen from about 3% to 4.64%.
1 Month
0.07%
1 Quarter
-0.01%
1 Year
-1.47%
3 Year
-5.63%
5 Year
-5.67%
7 Year
-3.01%
10 Year
0.80%
Buy
$765K↓ -1.47%
Rent
$684pw↑ +6.35%
Yield
4.64%↑ +8.01%
Growth Rate Cycle
GRC Index: 145
GRC Index
145
+ve minus -ve growth months
GRC Minima
-3.29%
Depth of worst slowdown
GPD
-16.2%
Growth vs area's own long-run trend
GSP
-9.1%
Growth vs surrounding areas
Supply
~92 new listings/month
New stock on market
0.22%
Inventory
1.84 mo
Building approvals
1.63%· 683
Hold period
8.43 yrs
Demand
Typical sale takes 30 days
Days on market
30 days· 2.75% discount
Vacancy rate
1.60%
Buy & rent search index
8.0 Buy|8.0 Rent
Clearance rate
72.80%· 34 auctions
Fundamentals
Underlying market quality
A sales ratio of 4.6% and rental ratio of 8%, with local schools ranked 65/100 and $5,084 of infrastructure spend per capita — the underlying quality signals behind the headline numbers above.
Affordability index — years of income to buy
24.0 yrs
Market stability
Sales ratio
4.6%
Annual sales, % of dwellings
Rental ratio
8%
Annual rentals, % of dwellings
School rank
65/100
Catchment school quality
RO ratio
55%
Owner-occupier vs investor
Infra. spending
$5,084
Active infrastructure pipeline, per capita
IRSAD
10
Socio-economic advantage index
Public housing
5.0%
Share of dwellings
Unit-to-house ratio
73.00%
Market depth
UH value ratio
37%
Typical unit vs house values
Major projects
HtAG Projects · as at 1 October 2026
ⓘ Covers all projects recorded in Port Phillip since 2020 — completed, active and proposed
Project pipeline at a glance
Total projects
11
Total stated value across the 8 projects with a published cost
$479.3M
Completed
7
Active (approved / under construction)
4
Proposed
0
Projects by type
Type
Projects
Commercial
7
School
3
Transport
1
Top 10 projects by stated value
1.Albert Park Pit Building Redevelopment
Redevelopment of the Pit Building in Albert Park, recorded as a school project. The largest priced project in the council area.
Value: $273.9MLocation: Albert Park
Approved
2.Eleven Eastern
Commercial development in South Melbourne.
Value: $88MLocation: South Melbourne
Completed
3.Office building, Spencer Street, Port Melbourne
Office development on Spencer Street, Port Melbourne.
Value: $27.9MLocation: Port Melbourne
Completed
4.Open Court
Commercial development in Balaclava.
Value: $26.7MLocation: Balaclava
Completed
5.Office building, Eastern Road, South Melbourne
Office development on Eastern Road, South Melbourne.
Value: $19.9MLocation: South Melbourne
Completed
6.Office building, Dorcas Street, South Melbourne
Approved office development on Dorcas Street, South Melbourne.
Value: $18.7MLocation: South Melbourne
Approved
7.Office building, Palmerston Crescent, South Melbourne
Office development on Palmerston Crescent, South Melbourne.
Value: $14.2MLocation: South Melbourne
Completed
8.Office building, Thomson Street, South Melbourne
Office development on Thomson Street, South Melbourne.
Value: $10MLocation: South Melbourne
Completed
9.Narrarrang Primary School
New primary school in Port Melbourne, currently under construction.
Value: Not publishedLocation: Port Melbourne
Under construction
10.Port Phillip Specialist School
Specialist school in Port Melbourne.
Value: Not publishedLocation: Port MelbourneCompleted: 2023
Completed
Sourced from the HtAG Projects brief for Port Phillip (as at 1 October 2026), which covers all projects recorded since 2020. Ranked by stated value; the two schools without a published cost are listed last. The Fishermans Bend Transport Link Feasibility Study (under construction, shared across 2 councils, no published cost) is excluded from the top 10 because no Port Phillip-specific cost is published. Confirm current status before relying on this for a purchase decision.
What these numbers mean
Plain-English definitions
Economic profile
Gross Regional Product (GRP)
The total value of all goods and services produced within the LGA in a year — the local equivalent of GDP, a measure of the strength and size of the area's economy.
Population (ERP)
Estimated Resident Population — the ABS's official population count for the area, measured each June.
Unemployment Rate
The share of the local labour force actively looking for work but not currently employed, measured quarterly.
Industry Sector of Employment
The percentage of employed local residents working in each industry — shows what the area's economy actually runs on, and how reliant it is on any one sector.
Scores & risk
EDI
Economic Diversity Index — how many different industries employ people locally. Higher = less exposed to a single employer or sector downturn.
MADI
Mining & Agriculture Dominance Index — how reliant the local economy is on volatile resource sectors. Higher = less reliant, more stable.
Bushfire / Flood Safety
A safety score from 0–100 based on vegetation, topography, watercourses and historical incidents. Higher = safer.
IRSAD
ABS Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage — a decile (1–10) measuring the area's socio-economic profile. Higher = more advantaged.
Market trends
Typical price / Yield
Typical price is recalculated every month for the current month and all previous months. Yield is the resulting gross rental yield.
Growth Rate Cycle (GRC)
Tracks the speed of price growth, not price itself. A rising curve means growth is accelerating; a falling curve means it's cooling.
GRC Index
The area's current position in its growth cycle, calculated as the number of months with positive growth minus the number of months with negative growth.
GRC Minima
The lowest cyclical growth-rate point the area has recorded — the depth of its worst slowdown.
GPD (Growth Pattern Deviation)
How current growth compares with the area's own long-run trend, averaged across 3- to 10-year windows. Negative = growing slower than its own history.
GSP (Growth Spillover Potential)
How the area's growth compares with the surrounding areas, averaged across 3- to 10-year windows. Negative = it has lagged its neighbours.
Supply & demand
Stock on Market (SoM)
New listings as a % of total dwellings. Below ~0.4% is considered low supply — a tight market.
Inventory
Months it would take to sell all current stock at the recent sales rate. Under ~3 months leans toward sellers.
Building Approvals
New dwelling approvals as a % of total dwellings — a forward indicator of future supply, since approvals become homes in 2–3 years.
Hold Period
The average length of time owners keep a property before selling. Over ~7 years (a full property cycle) = tightly held.
Days on Market (DOM) & Discount
The typical time a property takes to sell, plus how much below the asking price vendors are accepting. Under ~35 days = high demand; a larger discount = more buyer bargaining power.
Vacancy Rate
The share of rental dwellings sitting vacant for 21+ days. Between 1% and 3.5% = balanced; under ~1% = very high tenant demand.
Search Index (Buy & Rent)
Online buy and rent search interest, scored 1–10 against the wider area and adjusted for population. Higher = the area is attracting a bigger share of attention.
Clearance Rate
The share of scheduled auctions that sell. Above ~70% = high demand; below ~60% favours buyers. Most meaningful in auction-heavy metro areas like Port Phillip.
Fundamentals & projects
Affordability Index
Years of median household income required to buy the typical property outright.
Sales / Rental Ratio
Annual sales (or rentals) as a % of total dwellings — a measure of how much of the area turns over each year.
School Rank
Catchment school quality, scored out of 100 based on academic performance data.
RO Ratio
The balance of owner-occupiers to investors in the area.
Infra. Spending
Non-residential building approval value per adult resident — a proxy for how much infrastructure investment is flowing into the area.
Unit-to-House / UH Value Ratio
How much of the housing stock is units vs houses, and how unit prices compare to house prices in the same area.
Public Housing
The share of dwellings in the area that are government-owned social housing.
Stated Project Value
The published cost of a project. Some projects have no published cost, or share one cost across several councils, so they aren't counted in the total.
Definitions simplified for client readability — see HtAG's own data dictionary for full technical methodology.
Important: Market and project data sourced from HtAG Analytics. Economic data from economy.id and profile.id (informed decisions).
Figures shown are indicative and general in nature only, and do not constitute personal financial, investment, or legal advice. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. You should seek independent professional advice before making any investment decision. Mindset Property Pty Ltd, ACN 664 657 247.
