Is it expensive to live in Canterbury?

Buying a house here sits well above local incomes. In Canterbury, the typical local household earned about $2,877 a week at the most recent Census. With a median house price of $3,205,444, that works out to about 21.4 times a typical local annual household income. Renting looks different. Average house rent of $1,200 a week would take about 42% of that weekly household income, a large share, while unit rent of $650 a week would take about 23%, a moderate share. On these figures, buying is considerably more stretched against local incomes than renting, and renting a house would still use a large portion of a typical local household's income. Everyone's financial situation is different, so it's important to consider your own circumstances when deciding which suburb is right for you.

Is Canterbury a good place to invest?

The most striking feature of Canterbury's market over the past 12 months is the split between rents and values for units: unit rents rose 8.3% while unit values fell 6.9%. Houses followed a similar pattern on a smaller scale, with house rents up a modest 4.3% and house values edging down 1.1%. For both property types the rental side moved further than the value side, meaning rental income rose while median values eased over the period. This information has been prepared without taking your objectives, needs and overall financial situation into account. It is not meant to be a substitute for professional financial advice. For this reason, you should consider the appropriateness of the information and, if necessary, seek appropriate professional advice.

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Canterbury suburb profile

Canterbury is an inner-eastern Melbourne suburb in the City of Boroondara. Its character centres on tree-lined avenues and generous garden blocks, where large Victorian and Edwardian residences sit beside interwar homes and contemporary rebuilds. The streets feel quiet and established, with a strong heritage presence in the built fabric.

Local shopping strips, small parks and sporting grounds meet everyday needs, while Canterbury station on the Lilydale and Belgrave lines provides rail links and buses run along the main roads. The suburb’s enduring character comes from its heritage streetscapes, mature gardens and calm residential rhythm.

Canterbury property market performance

Property growth-4.0%Past 12 months

Canterbury's median house price is $3.21 million, down marginally by 1.1% over the last 12 months. There is no reliable median for units because too few units sold recently for one to be published. Over the last 3 months 21 houses and 7 units changed hands.

In Canterbury, house rents rose moderately, up 4.3% over the last 12 months, while house values fell slightly over the last 12 months.

	Houses	Units
Median price Past 3 months	$3.21M	N/A
Change in value Past 12 months	-1.1%	-6.9%
Sold Past 3 months	21	7
Median days on market Past 12 months	51	45
Average rent Past 12 months	$1200	$650
Change in rent Past 12 months	4.3%	8.3%

5 year median price trend for houses and units

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Canterbury demographics

Canterbury is an older community with incomes above the median for Victoria and many households owning their homes outright.

Couple families with children are the largest family type, at 49.0% of families. At the 2021 Census, 7,800 people lived in Canterbury.

Canterbury and Victoria

	Suburb	VIC
Median age years	46	38
Median household income weekly	$2,877	$1,759
Couples with children share of families	49.0%	45.5%
Couples without children share of families	37.8%	37.6%
One-parent families share of families	12.1%	15.2%
Homes owned outright share of homes	49.2%	33.2%
Homes with a mortgage share of homes	31.1%	37.3%
Homes rented share of homes	19.7%	29.5%

Source: ABS 2021 Census. Shares of homes exclude other and not-stated tenure.

Canterbury infrastructure, key developments and investment opportunities

Canterbury's Canterbury Community Precinct was completed in March 2024, providing a central hub for community health, education and children’s services with a new main building and restored heritage buildings such as the former public library and bowls pavilion.

Construction of the Canterbury Sportsground pavilion renewal began in March 2024 and the works are due for completion in 2025; when finished the upgrade will include a new accessible public toilet and ramps. In 2022–23 Council progressed the Maling Road placemaking project, including upgrades to the laneway linking Canterbury station to the shopping strip and short-term activation funding for the precinct.

Suburbs near Canterbury

Some popular suburbs near Canterbury include:

How does Canterbury compare to nearby suburbs?

Median house prices: Canterbury’s median house price is 31.8% higher than Balwyn’s.
House price growth: Over the past 12 months, house prices in Canterbury have grown 12.8% higher than in Balwyn.
Unit price growth: Property prices in nearby Balwyn have risen 21.7% more than in Canterbury over the past year.
Selling speed for houses: Properties in Canterbury are selling 3.8% faster than in Balwyn.
Selling speed for units: Properties in Canterbury are selling 11.8% faster than in Mont Albert.
Investment considerations: In Canterbury, the rental yield for house is 88.7% higher than the Melbourne average, while the rental yield for units is 9.2% higher.
House price growth: Over the past 12 months, house prices in Canterbury have grown 211.7% higher than the average rate of growth across Melbourne.
Unit price growth:Over the past 12 months, unit prices in Canterbury have grown 59.0% higher than the average rate of growth for units across Melbourne.

Common questions about Canterbury

Is Canterbury a nice place to live?
Canterbury is known for its tree-lined avenues and large Victorian and Edwardian residences, with easy access to Canterbury station and nearby shopping strips such as Maling Road.

The community is older, with incomes above the median for Victoria and many households owning their homes outright; couple families with children make up 49.0% of families. Local shopping strips, small parks and sporting grounds meet everyday needs, public transport includes rail on the Lilydale and Belgrave lines and buses along the main roads, and the Canterbury Community Precinct was completed, providing a central hub for community health, education and children’s services and restoring heritage buildings including the former public library and bowls pavilion.
Is it expensive to live in Canterbury?
Buying a house here sits well above local incomes. In Canterbury, the typical local household earned about $2,877 a week at the most recent Census. With a median house price of $3,205,444, that works out to about 21.4 times a typical local annual household income.

Renting looks different. Average house rent of $1,200 a week would take about 42% of that weekly household income, a large share, while unit rent of $650 a week would take about 23%, a moderate share. On these figures, buying is considerably more stretched against local incomes than renting, and renting a house would still use a large portion of a typical local household's income.

Everyone's financial situation is different, so it's important to consider your own circumstances when deciding which suburb is right for you.
Is Canterbury a good place to invest?
The most striking feature of Canterbury's market over the past 12 months is the split between rents and values for units: unit rents rose 8.3% while unit values fell 6.9%. Houses followed a similar pattern on a smaller scale, with house rents up a modest 4.3% and house values edging down 1.1%. For both property types the rental side moved further than the value side, meaning rental income rose while median values eased over the period.

This information has been prepared without taking your objectives, needs and overall financial situation into account. It is not meant to be a substitute for professional financial advice. For this reason, you should consider the appropriateness of the information and, if necessary, seek appropriate professional advice.

Choose the right real estate agents in Canterbury

There are 74 real estate agents in Canterbury, but they don’t all deliver the same results.

Some agents have a much stronger presence in the suburb, with just 5 agents handling around 25.2% of all sales in the past year.

Commission rates in Canterbury typically range from 1.71% to 2.57%. Comparing agents—including what they charge, what’s included, and how they structure their fees—is not only important when choosing an agent, the right structure can help ensure your chosen agent is motivated to achieve the best possible result.

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