Mentone, VIC 3194
Kingston City, Victoria
Good to Know
Mentone, VIC 3194 is a high-value house market in the local council area, currently positioned as a long-hold capital growth submarket. It sits about 20 km south-east of Melbourne CBD and is home to roughly 13,197 adults across 7,339 dwellings, with a vacancy rate of 0.72%.
According to HtAG Analytics, Mentone is exhibiting tight supply and strong demand. Stock on Market sits at 0.17% and Inventory at 1.58 months — well below the ~3-month balanced-market threshold — driving +6.8% YoY price growth and +3.0% YoY rent growth.
What the market data is signalling
Mentone's recent performance shows price growth outpacing rent growth, with a +6.8% lift in prices versus +3.0% in rents over the last year. That gap, together with a gross yield of 2.55% (below the recommended 3%), signals a market where capital appreciation is the primary return driver rather than cashflow.
Supply-side signals are clear: an opportune vacancy rate (0.72%), very low Stock on Market (0.17%) and tight Inventory (1.58 months) point to constrained listings and upward pressure on prices and rents. For a visual of how Mentone sits in broader momentum patterns, see the Markets in the Moment (MiM™) heatmap.
Who lives in Mentone — and why it matters for investors
Mentone posts an IRSAD of 1067, above the recommended threshold of 927, indicating relatively higher socioeconomic advantage. That profile typically correlates with lower demand volatility and deeper buyer pools, supporting capital stability over the cycle. The renter/owner split is neutral at 32.0% renters, which suggests balanced tenant demand alongside owner-occupier stability. Read more in our IRSAD Crossover study.
Why suburb-level data matters for Mentone
Council-level averages can hide distinct pockets like Mentone. Suburb-level metrics — such as the typical house price of $1,517,428, gross yield of 2.55%, Stock on Market at 0.17%, Inventory of 1.58 months and median days on market of 67 days — give a clearer picture of local supply/demand balance and holding-period expectations. Use suburb-focused analysis rather than broad averages when assessing trade-offs between growth and cashflow. Learn about our methodology in LGA vs Suburb research. For the full dataset and exportable report, see the full Mentone data guide.
What's behind the RCS™ score of 67
HtAG's RCS™ (67 here) bundles three independent dimensions — risk minimisation, capital-growth potential and cashflow resilience — into a single composite to help match markets to investor strategy. A moderate-to-high overall score like this usually reflects stronger capital prospects offset by tighter yields or affordability constraints; examining the sub-scores is important to know whether Mentone better suits growth-tilted or income-tilted strategies. See how the RCS™ is constructed in our explainer on how the RCS™ is built. To explore this suburb interactively, open Mentone in HtAG Copilot.
Forward signals to watch
vacancy rate — currently 0.72%: sustained sub-1% vacancy typically keeps upward pressure on rents and limits tenant choice, supporting rent growth but constraining immediate yield improvement.
building approvals ratio — currently 1.14%: a neutral level of approvals suggests moderate development activity; a sustained rise would signal increasing future supply that could ease price momentum.
Melbourne cycle phase: a city-wide shift from expansion into slowdown would likely moderate local capital gains in Mentone, while renewed metropolitan strength would amplify its current growth trajectory.
Does this area meet your investment goals?
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RCS Breakdown
Mentone'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
Mentone's headline values — $1,517K to buy and $741PW to rent, a 2.53% gross yield. Over the past decade, prices have moved 33.37% and rents 47.13% — the Yield series shows whether that gap is widening (price outpacing rent, yield compressing) or closing.
$1,517K 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.
$741PW today, with rent growth at (+3.05% YoY) compared to price growth (+6.75%). That spread determines yield is expanding or compressing across the next cycle. Sign up to unlock the entire trend line.
Where is Mentone in its cycle - and is the 2.53% 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 Mentone's long-hold story?
Beyond the headline price, Mentone 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
Mentone'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
Mentone 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 Mentone 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 Mentone 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 Mentone - 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
Mentone 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 Mentone'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 Mentone 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
Mentone 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 Mentone 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 Mentone 3194 VIC is 11,122, with a median age of 42. Of those, 45.18% are married, 13.28% are divorced or separated, 36.34% are single and 5.16% are widowed.
The average household size is 2.3 people per dwelling, and the median household monthly income is estimated to be $10,416. The median monthly mortgage repayment for households in this suburb is $2,167 which is 20.80% of their earnings.
Source: ABS Census Data (2021)