Hawthorn, VIC 3122
Boroondara City, Victoria
Good to Know
Hawthorn, VIC 3122 is a high-value house market in the Boroondara area, currently positioned as a long-hold capital growth submarket. Located about 6 km east of Melbourne CBD, it is home to roughly 22,322 adults across 14,781 dwellings, and the current vacancy rate sits at 1.44%.
According to HtAG Analytics, Hawthorn is exhibiting tight supply with rising rental pressure. Stock on Market sits at 0.13% and Inventory at 1.44 months — well below the ~3-month balanced-market threshold — driving -4.9% YoY price growth and +5.2% YoY rent growth.
What the market data is signalling
Hawthorn shows a classic low-supply, rental-driven signal: prices are down -4.9% over 12 months while rents are up +5.2%, and days-on-market are quick at 27 days. Low Stock on Market (0.13%) and short Inventory (1.44 months) are supporting rental strength even as gross yield sits at 2.28%, below the commonly recommended 3% cashflow threshold. For a visual of where this sits in the national context, see the Markets in the Moment (MiM™) heatmap.
Who lives in Hawthorn — and why it matters for investors
Hawthorn scores an IRSAD of 1108, indicating an affluent catchment, and hosts approximately 22,322 adults across 14,781 dwellings. But structural tenancy signals are noteworthy: the renter/owner split is 46.0% (unfavourable) and the units/houses mix is 72.0% (unfavourable), both of which can increase market volatility for investors focused on tenancy turnover and yields. See our IRSAD Crossover study for why neighbourhood affluence and demographic mix matter for growth and volatility.
Why suburb-level data matters for Hawthorn
Council-level summaries can mask concentrated submarket dynamics — the decision should rest on Hawthorn's own figures. In Hawthorn the typical house price is $2,456,514, gross yield is 2.28%, Stock on Market is just 0.13%, Inventory is 1.44 months and median days-on-market are 27. These suburb-level metrics tell a different operational story than broad averages might. Read more on methodology in our LGA vs Suburb research.
For the full dataset and a downloadable brief, get the full Hawthorn, VIC 3122 data guide.
What's behind the RCS™ score of 53
HtAG's RCS™ of 53 bundles three independent dimensions — risk minimisation, capital-growth potential and cashflow resilience — into one composite read. That mid-range score reflects competing signals: strong socioeconomic advantage (IRSAD), tight supply and rising rents, but compressed yields and negative 1-year price growth. Digging into the sub-scores is essential to match Hawthorn to an investor strategy; learn how the RCS™ is built. To explore Hawthorn interactively, open Hawthorn in HtAG Copilot.
Forward signals to watch
The vacancy rate — currently 1.44%: sustained balanced vacancy (1–3.5%) over 12–24 months usually points to steady rental demand that supports modest rent gains without extreme upward pressure on vacancies.
The building approvals ratio — currently 0.31%: this sits in the neutral band (0.3–2%), so new supply is not yet aggressive enough to materially relieve the tight sales/inventory picture, but it warrants monitoring for any acceleration.
The Melbourne cycle phase: a city-wide shift from contraction to recovery would likely lift local pricing momentum and tighten yields further in Hawthorn; conversely, deeper city-wide weakness could prolong price softness despite rental resilience.
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.
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Market Trends
Hawthorn's headline values — $2,456K to buy and $1,077PW to rent, a 2.27% gross yield. Over the past decade, prices have moved -2.46% and rents 44.31% — the Yield series shows whether that gap is widening (price outpacing rent, yield compressing) or closing.
$2,456K 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.
$1,077PW today, with rent growth at (+5.17% YoY) compared to price growth (-4.88%). 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 2.27% 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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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)