Hawthorn, VIC 3122
Boroondara City, Victoria
Good to Know
Hawthorn, VIC 3122 is a high-value unit market in the Boroondara City area, currently positioned as a long-hold capital growth submarket. Located about 6 km east of Melbourne CBD, Hawthorn is home to roughly 22,322 residents across 14,781 dwellings, with a vacancy rate of 1.20%.
According to HtAG Analytics, Hawthorn is exhibiting tight supply with rent-driven demand. Stock on Market sits at 0.21% and Inventory at 1.74 months — well below the ~3-month balanced threshold — driving -9.1% YoY price growth and +7.3% YoY rent growth.
What the market data is signalling
Hawthorn's units show a clear rent/cashflow rebound even as capital values have been repriced over the past year. Typical unit price in Hawthorn is $694,609, while median weekly rent is $661, delivering an indicative gross yield of 4.95%. The split of falling prices (-9.1% YoY) and rising rents (+7.3% YoY) points to stronger income fundamentals for investors even while buyers re‑assess values.
Very low Stock on Market (0.21%) and short Inventory (1.74 months) are supporting rent pressures and quicker turnaround times for listings; monitor the Markets in the Moment (MiM™) heatmap for weekly shifts in demand and supply across Melbourne.
Who lives in Hawthorn — and why it matters for investors
Hawthorn scores an IRSAD decile of 10, indicating a highly advantaged socioeconomic profile. High affluence tends to support long-term price resilience and a strong rental pool for quality units, but demographic composition also affects volatility: Hawthorn's Renter/Owner ratio of 46% sits just above the neutral band, which can amplify short-term rental demand swings. See the IRSAD Crossover study for how socioeconomic shifts map to price performance.
Why suburb-level data matters for Hawthorn
Council-level averages blend many submarkets; decisions should be driven by Hawthorn's own metrics. For example, Hawthorn's typical unit price is $694,609, gross yield 4.95%, Stock on Market 0.21%, Inventory 1.74 months and median days on market 33 days — a compact, low-supply unit segment that behaves differently to nearby pockets. Read our methodology on granular screening in LGA vs Suburb research.
For a downloadable breakdown, see the full Hawthorn data guide.
What's behind the RCS™ score of 84
HtAG's RCS™ score of 84 combines three independent dimensions — risk minimisation, capital-growth potential and cashflow resilience — into one composite rating. High overall scores reflect favourable mixes of low supply, strong rental dynamics and socioeconomic strength, but the sub-score breakdown shows which dimension dominates your match to a strategy. Learn how the RCS™ is built.
open Hawthorn in HtAG Copilot to explore sub-score details and scenario testing.
Forward signals to watch
The vacancy rate — currently 1.20%: a sustained vacancy around this balanced band typically supports steady rent growth; a move lower would accelerate rental pressure, while a rise above 3.5% would relieve pressure on rents.
The building approvals ratio — currently 0.00%: near-zero approvals signals very limited new unit supply, which is supportive for rents and tightens future stock unless approvals lift materially.
The Melbourne cycle phase: a city-wide shift from repricing into recovery would strengthen buyer confidence and lift local capital momentum in Hawthorn; conversely, broader price softness would slow capital recovery even if rents remain firm.
Does this area meet your investment goals?
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RCS Breakdown
Hawthorn'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
Hawthorn's headline values — $2,278K to buy and $1,073PW to rent, a 2.44% gross yield. Over the past decade, prices have moved -11.85% and rents 44.09% — the Yield series shows whether that gap is widening (price outpacing rent, yield compressing) or closing.
$2,278K 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.
$1,073PW today, with rent growth at (+1.42% YoY) compared to price growth (-10.48%). That spread determines yield is expanding or compressing across the next cycle. Sign up to unlock the entire trend line.
Where is Hawthorn in its cycle - and is the 2.44% 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 Hawthorn's long-hold story?
Beyond the headline price, Hawthorn 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
Hawthorn'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
Hawthorn 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 Hawthorn 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 Hawthorn 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 Hawthorn - 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
Hawthorn 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 Hawthorn'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 Hawthorn 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
Hawthorn 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 Hawthorn 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 Hawthorn 3122 VIC is 19,579, with a median age of 34. Of those, 36.04% are married, 8.34% are divorced or separated, 52.57% are single and 3.08% are widowed.
The average household size is 2.1 people per dwelling, and the median household monthly income is estimated to be $13,116. The median monthly mortgage repayment for households in this suburb is $2,259 which is 17.22% of their earnings.
Source: ABS Census Data (2021)