Highett, VIC 3190
Kingston City, Victoria
Good to Know
Highett, VIC 3190 is a high-value house market in the Bayside City Council area, currently positioned as a long-hold capital growth submarket. Located around 14 km south-east of the Melbourne CBD, Highett is home to roughly 12,016 adult residents across 7,038 dwellings and records a vacancy rate of 1.19%.
According to HtAG Analytics, Highett is exhibiting constrained supply and firm rental demand. Stock on Market sits at 0.23% and Inventory at 1.8 months — both well below the ~3-month balanced-market threshold — driving +3.8% YoY price growth and +4.8% YoY rent growth.
What the market data is signalling
Highett shows rental-led momentum: 1-year rent growth of +4.8% is outpacing 1-year price growth of +3.8%, while extremely low Stock on Market (0.23%) and tight Inventory (1.8 months) are compressing supply. That combination points to ongoing rental pressure and competitive buyer conditions for houses.
See the Markets in the Moment (MiM™) heatmap for a visual view of these short-term signals.
Who lives in Highett — and why it matters for investors
Highett records an IRSAD of 1,073, which sits above the recommended threshold and signals relatively strong socio-economic fundamentals. That profile tends to reduce downside volatility and supports long-cycle capital growth potential.
Household structure also matters: the renter/owner split is neutral at 27.0%, while the units/houses ratio is 58.0% (unfavourable for a pure house-play), so investors should match stock choice to local tenure patterns. Read the IRSAD Crossover study for detail on why socio-economic mix changes market behaviour.
Why suburb-level data matters for Highett
Council-level averages can hide pockets like Highett. Decisions should rest on the suburb's own metrics: a typical house price of $1,310,978, gross rental yield of 3.28%, Stock on Market at 0.23%, Inventory at 1.8 months and median days on market of 38 days describe a tight, established house submarket — data your acquisition strategy should reflect.
For a methodology comparison see LGA vs Suburb research. For deeper figures, download the full Highett data guide.
What's behind the RCS™ score of 71
HtAG's RCS™ score of 71 bundles three independent dimensions — risk minimisation, capital-growth potential and cashflow resilience — into one composite rating. Reviewing the sub-score breakdown is essential to align Highett to your goal (growth vs income vs low-risk hold).
Learn how the RCS™ is built, then open Highett in HtAG Copilot to test scenarios for your strategy.
Forward signals to watch
The vacancy rate — currently 1.19%: sustained low-to-balanced vacancy over 12–24 months usually supports further rent growth and increases landlord bargaining power.
The building approvals ratio — currently 0.86%: sitting in the neutral band, this level suggests new supply is steady but not overwhelming; watch for rises that could relieve tight inventory.
The wider Melbourne cycle phase: a city-wide shift from expansion to contraction would likely slow local price momentum in Highett, while continued expansion would strengthen existing rental and price signals.
Does this area meet your investment goals?
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RCS Breakdown
Highett'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
Highett's headline values — $1,310K to buy and $823PW to rent, a 3.26% gross yield. Over the past decade, prices have moved 19.39% and rents 57.22% — the Yield series shows whether that gap is widening (price outpacing rent, yield compressing) or closing.
$1,310K 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.
$823PW today, with rent growth at (+4.82% YoY) compared to price growth (+3.83%). That spread determines yield is expanding or compressing across the next cycle. Sign up to unlock the entire trend line.
Where is Highett in its cycle - and is the 3.26% 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 Highett's long-hold story?
Beyond the headline price, Highett 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
Highett'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
Highett 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 Highett 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 Highett 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 Highett - 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
Highett 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 Highett'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 Highett 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
Highett 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 Highett 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 Highett 3190 VIC is 9,802, with a median age of 40. Of those, 45.00% are married, 13.53% are divorced or separated, 36.70% are single and 4.74% are widowed.
The average household size is 2.4 people per dwelling, and the median household monthly income is estimated to be $11,152. The median monthly mortgage repayment for households in this suburb is $2,300 which is 20.62% of their earnings.
Source: ABS Census Data (2021)