Glen Iris (3146) sits approximately 10 kilometres south-east of the Melbourne CBD, spanning the Cities of Boroondara and Stonnington. On the SEIFA Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage, it records a raw score of 1144 against a national mean of 1000, placing it in decile 10 of 10 and at the 100th state percentile within Victoria. That reading is among the highest recorded for any suburb in the country, and it reflects a postcode where household incomes, professional employment, and educational attainment are consistently elevated. For investors, that macro signal matters, but it is the starting point for analysis, not the conclusion.
ABS 2021 IRSAD release. Score 1144 (national mean = 1000).
A SEIFA IRSAD score of 1144 tells PropertyRanker that Glen Iris carries very low economic-stress risk at the postcode level. In the model, this feeds directly into three of the twelve scoring criteria: economic_strength scores strongly, hazard_risk is moderated downward (socioeconomic distress is itself a proxy for deferred maintenance and insurance gaps), and entry_point_risk is flagged as elevated rather than reduced. That last point is important. Decile 10 suburbs in inner Melbourne typically carry median house prices well above the national median, which compresses gross yields. Published rental yield data for Glen Iris houses sits in the low-to-mid 2 percent range, which sits well below the anchor for even the Capital Growth strategy (around 3.5 percent gross). Units in the postcode track closer to 4 percent, which still falls short of the Balanced strategy anchor of around 5 percent. This means Glen Iris is unlikely to suit High Yield or Regional strategies on current numbers. Investors running a Capital Growth or Balanced mandate should stress-test whether the specific listing they are considering can clear the relevant yield threshold, because the postcode average will not do it automatically. The suburb also straddles two LGAs, which means planning overlays, heritage controls, and development potential can differ materially from one street to the next. Owner-occupier demand is structurally strong here, with census data showing roughly 70 percent of dwellings owner-occupied, which supports price floors but also limits rental stock depth. A strong SEIFA reading does not make a listing a buy, and it does not insulate a poorly priced or structurally compromised asset from underperformance.
According to CoreLogic data published via yourinvestmentpropertymag.com.au and propertyvalue.com.au (to May 2026), Glen Iris houses recorded a median sale price of $2,535,000, representing annual capital growth of 7.03%, with 230 house sales over the prior 12 months and an average vendor discount of -3.9% at 30 days on market. Vacancy rates have remained consistently low and stable at 1.4%, 1.7% over the past decade per compoundinvest.com.au, and azrea.com.au notes that house prices grew 25.30% between 2016 and 2026 with the strongest single-year gain recorded in 2021. Overall the suburb presents a steady market with no strong directional shift in vacancy, days on market, or vendor discounting.
Vacancy rates have held in a narrow 1.4, 1.7% band for a decade, days on market are steady at 30 days, and vendor discounting at -3.9% shows no clear directional shift, producing an overall steady market temperature.
Sources: Glen Iris VIC 3146 Suburb Profile – Your Investment Property Mag (CoreLogic) (2026-09-01); Glen Iris House Prices & Property Trends – PropertyValue.com.au (2026-05-31); Glen Iris Median Sale Price Snapshot – Image Property (2026-07-31); Glen Iris Property Prices Over 11 Years – A-Z Real Estate Agency (2026-09-01); Glen Iris VIC 3146 Suburb Profile – CompoundInvest (vacancy rates) (2024-04-15) · Refreshed 16 Sep 2026
PropertyRanker scores any Australian property against 12 criteria across three pillars: Growth, Cashflow, and Risk. SEIFA is a primary signal for economic strength and a supporting one for entry-price risk. It also informs the crime side of hazard risk, though physical overlays like flood, bushfire and coastal exposure, and recorded crime data where available, take priority there. The decile of 10 shown above gives a listing in Glen Iris a stronger starting line on economic strength than the national median postcode, and a softer one on entry-price risk, since more advantaged postcodes usually carry higher entry prices.
On top of that, PropertyRanker chooses one of four strategies (Balanced, Growth, Yield, Regional) and applies a per-strategy yield anchor. The anchors are 3.5% for Growth, 5% for Balanced, 6% for Yield, and 7% for Regional. A postcode at this level of relative advantage tends to suit the Growth (3.5% anchor) and Balanced (5% anchor) strategies more readily than Yield (6%) or Regional (7%), because a higher entry price compresses the gross yield a listing can reach without a specific value-add.
Read the scoring guide for the full criteria list and how the verdict thresholds work.
SEIFA is a postcode-level read. The fastest sanity check on any single decile reading is to compare it against the suburbs that surround it.
Before acting on any listing in Glen Iris, investors should confirm which LGA the specific property falls under (Boroondara or Stonnington), then check the relevant planning portal for heritage overlays, vegetation overlays, and any development restrictions that would cap upside. Gross yield should be calculated against current asking rent, not postcode averages, and tested against your chosen strategy anchor. Given the low vacancy environment typical of inner south-east Melbourne, SQM Research vacancy data for 3146 should still be checked at the time of purchase, as conditions shift. For units and apartments, body corporate financials and the sinking fund balance are non-negotiable checks in a postcode where older-stock conversions are common. Flood mapping along the Gardiners Creek corridor is relevant for properties on lower-lying streets. Finally, price the listing against recent comparable sales rather than median figures, because the spread between a renovated period home and an unrenovated equivalent in the same street can be substantial. Run the specific listing through PropertyRanker to get a verdict that accounts for all of these factors, including current SQM vacancy, body corporate health, flood and overlay status, and pricing against recent comparable sales.
Glen Iris records a SEIFA IRSAD raw score of 1144 against a national mean of 1000, placing it in decile 10 of 10 and at the 100th state percentile within Victoria. PropertyRanker reads that as very low economic-stress risk, which feeds positively into the economic_strength criterion and moderates hazard_risk downward. The tradeoff is that entry_point_risk is flagged as elevated, because decile 10 inner-Melbourne suburbs typically carry purchase prices that compress gross yields well below most strategy anchors. The SEIFA signal is a starting point; whether a specific listing in 3146 clears the relevant yield threshold is what the score on that listing will tell you.
Published rental yield data for Glen Iris houses sits in the low-to-mid 2 percent range, well short of even the Capital Growth strategy anchor of around 3.5 percent gross; units track closer to 4 percent, which still falls short of the Balanced anchor of around 5 percent. High Yield and Regional strategies, anchored at around 6 and 7 percent respectively, are unlikely to be viable on current postcode-level numbers. Capital Growth is the closest fit in mandate terms, with Balanced a possible outcome on select unit listings, but investors should score the specific listing rather than relying on postcode averages, because the average will not automatically clear the threshold.
Entry_point_risk is the primary flag: purchase prices in this postcode are structurally high, which compresses yields and extends the time horizon required for a capital-growth thesis to function. Glen Iris straddles both the City of Boroondara and the City of Stonnington, meaning planning overlays, heritage controls, and development potential can differ materially from one street to the next; the Boroondara side has active heritage overlay amendments covering parts of Glen Iris, including the Mont Iris Estate and Environs Precinct, which can restrict renovation and redevelopment scope. Owner-occupier demand is structurally strong, with roughly 70 percent of dwellings owner-occupied, which supports price floors but also limits rental stock depth and should be factored into vacancy assumptions.
Because Glen Iris sits across both the City of Boroondara and the City of Stonnington, the planning scheme that governs any given property depends on which side of the boundary it falls. The Boroondara side has an active heritage overlay program, including interim and proposed permanent controls over precincts within Glen Iris, which can constrain subdivision, demolition, and significant alterations. Investors considering value-add or development strategies should check the relevant council's planning scheme and any applicable heritage or neighbourhood character overlay for the specific address before drawing conclusions about what is permissible.
PropertyRanker applies twelve scoring criteria to each listing; in Glen Iris, three of those criteria are directly informed by the SEIFA reading: economic_strength (scored strongly at decile 10), hazard_risk (moderated downward given low socioeconomic distress), and entry_point_risk (flagged as elevated given the postcode's price tier). The model also incorporates transport access, an area where Glen Iris is well served by the Glen Waverley and Alamein train lines as well as tram route 6 and several bus connections. Figures that change frequently, including gross yield, vacancy rate, and comparable sale prices, are drawn from live data feeds and reflect the specific listing rather than the postcode average, so running a score on the actual property you are assessing will give you a more precise read than any suburb-level summary.
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