Get a property report and suburb profile for any property in Glen Iris

Glen Iris is a leafy, established inner-eastern suburb with garden-lined streets and extensive parkland along Gardiners Creek, giving residents easy access to walking and cycling trails. Housing is largely period weatherboard and brick bungalows and interwar homes, many updated into comfortable family houses, with apartment pockets clustered near transport corridors. It attracts families and professionals who value good schools, local sports clubs and neighbourhood cafés and shops, and couple families with children are the largest group at 51.7% of families.

Everyday life in Glen Iris centres on parks, community facilities and straightforward public transport and road connections. The rail corridor remains the transport backbone, Gardiner station was rebuilt during the level crossing works, and the area is included in the Victorian Government’s Train and Tram Zone program, which will introduce station-centred planning and has community consultation under way. Whether it suits you depends on what you want from a suburb.

On the figures for Glen Iris, a typical local household earned $2,491 a week at the last Census. The median house price of $2,100,000 works out to about 16.2 times a typical local annual household income at the last Census, which sits well above local incomes. The median unit price of $725,000 is about 5.6 times a local year's household income, which is somewhat above local incomes.

Looking at rents, a house rent of $1,000 a week would take about 40.1% of a typical local household's weekly income at the last Census, a large share, while a unit rent of $560 a week would take about 22.5%, a moderate share. That means houses are the most stretched against local incomes here, with units and unit rents closer to what people locally earned at the last Census. Whether that feels expensive depends on your own income and circumstances.

Everyone's financial situation is different, so it's important to consider your own circumstances when deciding which suburb is right for you.

Units and houses moved in different ways in Glen Iris over the past year. Unit values rose 8.9%, a solid increase, while unit rents edged up 1.8%, a slight rise. House values increased 4.0%, a modest gain, and house rents rose 5.3%, a solid rise.

For someone focused on rental income, the house figures are most relevant because house rents grew faster than house values this year. If capital growth is your priority, the unit side showed the stronger price gain relative to its rents. The figures describe what happened over the last 12 months; whether that balance suits you depends on your objectives and circumstances.

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.