Rental yield is gross rent divided by purchase price. A suburb with a $1M median property and $700 per week rent has a gross yield of 3.64 percent. Here are Melbourne’s 10 highest-yielding suburbs in 2026 — ranked by gross house yield, with unit yields and investment context included.
Top 10 Ranked by Gross Rental Yield
| Rank | Suburb | Median Price (House) | Gross Yield (House) | Gross Yield (Unit) | Vacancy Rate | GeeVee Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dandenong | $845k | 5.8% | 6.4% | 1.1% | 7.5/10 |
| 2 | Springvale | $895k | 4.9% | 5.6% | 0.9% | 7.2/10 |
| 3 | Braybrook | $785k | 4.3% | 5.1% | 0.8% | 7.9/10 |
| 4 | Preston | $1.28M | 4.1% | 5.1% | 0.7% | 7.6/10 |
| 5 | Clayton | $1.12M | 4.1% | 5.6% | 0.6% | 7.8/10 |
| 6 | Reservoir | $985k | 3.9% | 4.8% | 0.8% | 7.3/10 |
| 7 | Coburg | $1.18M | 3.6% | 4.7% | 0.7% | 7.7/10 |
| 8 | Box Hill | $1.35M | 3.8% | 5.1% | 0.6% | 7.8/10 |
| 9 | Sunshine | $895k | 4.2% | 5.2% | 0.7% | 8.2/10 |
| 10 | Footscray | $985k | 3.5% | 4.7% | 0.6% | 8.0/10 |
How to Interpret These Yields
Gross yield is the starting point — not the finish line. To calculate net yield, subtract: property management fees (1.5 to 2.5 percent), council rates ($1,500 to $3,000/year), insurance ($1,200 to $2,000/year), maintenance (1 percent of value/year), body corporate if applicable. On a 5 percent gross yield, net yield typically falls to 3.5 to 4 percent after all costs.
Which High-Yield Suburbs Also Have Strong Growth?
The best investments combine yield AND growth. From this list: Sunshine (8.2/10 — Airport Rail Link), Clayton (7.8/10 — Monash precinct), Braybrook (7.9/10 — Footscray spillover) and Preston (7.6/10 — supply compression) offer the strongest combined return profiles.
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