Wonthaggi, VIC 3995
Bass Coast Shire, Victoria
Good to Know
Wonthaggi, VIC 3995 is a steady, income-friendly house market in the Bass Coast Shire area, currently positioned as a balanced rental-income market. Home to roughly 5,215 adults across 3,854 dwellings, the suburb is trading with a vacancy rate of 0.72%.
According to HtAG Analytics, Wonthaggi is exhibiting tight supply with rental demand. Stock on Market sits at 0.33% and Inventory at 2.75 months — around the ~3-month balanced threshold for availability — driving +0.2% YoY price growth and +1.5% YoY rent growth.
What the market data is signalling
Wonthaggi shows rents rising faster than prices (+1.5% rent vs +0.2% price, 1-year), while low vacancy and scarce stock are tightening the market. With a vacancy rate of 0.72% and Stock on Market at 0.33%, the data signal sustained rental pressure that supports the suburb's above-recommendation gross yield of 4.51%.
Compare and explore these short-term momentum pockets on the Markets in the Moment (MiM™) heatmap.
Who lives in Wonthaggi — and why it matters for investors
Wonthaggi records an IRSAD of 896 (below the recommended guide of 927), indicating lower relative affluence compared with higher-IRSAD suburbs. That demographic signal can mean higher income volatility but also steadier rental demand where affordability and yield matter.
The local tenure mix is neutral (renter/owner 29.0%) and housing stock mix is neutral (units/houses 15.0%), which supports a diverse tenant pool. Read the evidence behind area-level socioeconomic effects in our IRSAD Crossover study.
Why suburb-level data matters for Wonthaggi
Council or LGA averages can conceal pockets like Wonthaggi, so decisions should rest on the suburb's own metrics. Wonthaggi's typical house price is $550,730, gross yield 4.51%, Stock on Market 0.33%, Inventory 2.75 months and median days on market 68 — these local figures directly shape risk and cashflow profiles for properties here.
For more on why localised research beats broad averages see our LGA vs Suburb research. For a deeper exportable pack, get the full Wonthaggi data guide.
What's behind the RCS™ score of 55
HtAG's RCS™ (55) bundles three independent dimensions — risk minimisation, capital-growth potential and cashflow resilience — into one composite score. The headline helps prioritise markets, but investors should read the underlying sub-scores to match Wonthaggi to a strategy (income vs growth vs low-risk hold). Learn more on how the RCS™ is built.
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Forward signals to watch
vacancy rate — currently 0.72%: sustained sub‑1% vacancy over 12–24 months typically drives accelerating rents and limited tenant choice, supporting cashflow and landlord pricing power.
building approvals ratio — currently 0.65%: this sits in the neutral band, indicating moderate new dwelling supply; a sustained rise above ~2% would materially loosen pressure on rents and prices.
Melbourne cycle phase: a city-wide shift (tightening or slowing) would influence buyer demand and capital momentum in Wonthaggi — watch broader metro cycle signals for directional risk to local growth.
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RCS Breakdown
Wonthaggi's RCS™ headline is an overall signal — but it doesn't tell you why. The three sub-scores below reveal whether that score is earned through risk minimisation, capital growth, or cashflow — and which portfolio brief it fits.
starter
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Critical to know
Market Trends
Wonthaggi's headline values — $550K to buy and $477PW to rent, a 4.5% gross yield. Over the past decade, prices have moved 95.44% and rents 80.38% — the Yield series shows whether that gap is widening (price outpacing rent, yield compressing) or closing.
$550K is today. The 10-year trajectory reveals whether that's the top of a run, the start of a new leg, or somewhere mid-cycle. Sign up to unlock the entire trend line.
$477PW today, with rent growth at (+1.49% YoY) compared to price growth (+0.21%). That spread determines yield is expanding or compressing across the next cycle. Sign up to unlock the entire trend line.
Where is Wonthaggi in its cycle - and is the 4.5% yield holding?
Cycle phase tells you whether you're buying near the bottom (room to run) or top (compression ahead). Yield trajectory tells you whether cashflow is durable or being eroded — the single most important question for a long-hold thesis.
Cycle Phase
Cycle Position
Yield Trajectory
Rent vs Price Spread
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Area Risks
Property data alone won't flag the structural risks that can erode a long-hold position. Bushfire overlays, flood-zone exposure, and economic concentration sit outside the price feed but determine whether your capital is insurable, defensible, and structurally protected. Unlock to see.
Are there hidden structural risks shaping Wonthaggi's long-hold story?
Beyond the headline price, Wonthaggi carries risk signals a median can't show — hazard exposure from bushfire and flood overlays, and how narrowly local employment leans on a handful of sectors (the concentration the EDI score quantifies). Together these separate insurable, defensible long-holds from those carrying tail-risk that never surfaces in the headline number.
MADI Risk
EDI Risk
Bushfire
Flood
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Critical to know
Supply & Demand
Wonthaggi's headline numbers show where the market is today. The two cards below answer where it's heading. Direction is what separates a buy from a wait.
Is housing supply tightening or building up?
Stock on Market is one number — the trend is what matters. SoM, inventory, building approvals and hold period together reveal whether the market is starving for stock (price pressure up) or quietly building a pipeline (pressure down).
Stock on Market
Inventory
Building Approvals
Hold Period
Is buyer and renter demand heating up or cooling off?
Vacancy is one signal — the real question is whether demand is still building or quietly peaking. Days on market, vacancy, search index and clearance rate are the four pulse-points — when they diverge, they signal a turning point.
Days on Market
Vacancy Rate
Search Index
Clearance Rate
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Critical to know
Fundamentals
Wonthaggi can look solid on the surface — but the three layers below separate markets that genuinely hold value from ones that only look like they do.
Is Wonthaggi genuinely stable - or just expensive?
IRSAD hints at affluence, but socio-economic strength alone doesn't guarantee resilience. Combined with the renter-to-owner balance and unit-to-house ratio, you get the three signals that separate a tightly-held submarket from one carrying hidden volatility.
IRSAD
Renter to Owner
Units to Houses
Where do Wonthaggi prices go over the next 12 months?
Today's headline price is just a snapshot. Projected ROI and the volatility index tell you whether to commit capital now, wait for a softer entry, or rotate into a steadie submarket.
Projected Annual ROI
Volatility Index
Can you actually buy into Wonthaggi - and exit cleanly?
Tightly-held areas reward long-hold investors but punish anyone who needs liquidity. Annual sales and rental volume reveal whether your capital can reposition — or sits structurally locked in.
Annual Sales Volume
Annual Rental Volume
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Important to know
Education & Infrastructure
Wonthaggi looks tightly-held and stable on the surface — but the three layers below separate areas that genuinely hold value from ones that only look like they do.
Does Wonthaggi's school catchment + infrastructure pipeline justify the price?
School ranks anchor family demand and tenant quality. The active infrastructure pipeline shifts a suburb's price ceiling over the next 5–10 years. Together they tell you whether Wonthaggi has structural support for the next leg of capital growth.
School Rank
Hospitals & Employment
Infrastructure Spend
Transport Projects
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Full HtAG Intelligence
Wonthaggi shows potential. The platform tells you whether it's the best fit for your portfolio.
Price and yield are only the surface. HtAG reads the forces underneath — supply tightening or loosening, demand heating or cooling, and the risks that move slowly but decide long-term growth. Together they show whether Wonthaggi has the structural support for its next leg — or whether the numbers are running ahead of the fundamentals.
The total adult population (15 years or older) of Wonthaggi 3995 VIC is 4,551, with a median age of 55. Of those, 39.75% are married, 18.37% are divorced or separated, 31.64% are single and 10.44% are widowed.
The average household size is 2.0 people per dwelling, and the median household monthly income is estimated to be $4,960. The median monthly mortgage repayment for households in this suburb is $1,198 which is 24.15% of their earnings.
Source: ABS Census Data (2021)