Free market report · Data to July 2026
Port Phillip property market
Port Phillip is one of the 453 council areas we track on the Momentum Dial, our property clock. This page is the plain-numbers read: where it sits in the cycle, who lives there, what's being built, and the suburbs inside it.
Port Phillip is home to 114,434 people. On the Buyers First Momentum Dial its house market currently reads Rising, while units read Recovering. Same council, different clocks, which is exactly why we track them separately. The number that matters most here: 10,625 more residents are in work than five years ago, +16.1%. Jobs lead prices. Here's the rest of the picture, in plain numbers.
Houses · cycle position
Rising
The Port Phillip house market is accelerating. Growth is building pace rather than fading, which is the phase most investors wish they had caught in hindsight.
-2% to +7%
Modelled 12-month price range
+1.5%
Modelled 12-month rent change
Units · cycle position
Recovering
The unit market is still soft, but the rate of decline is easing. Recoveries start exactly here, though not every easing turns into one.
-3% to +6%
Modelled 12-month price range
+1.7%
Modelled 12-month rent change
At a glance · houses
$2,051,851
Typical house, August 2026
+3.4% a year since 2010
+1.4%
Growth a year, last 10 years
-0.5% a year over the last 5
$1,107
Rent a week
2.8% gross yield
6 of 15
Years prices fell since 2010
Worst: 2023, -2%
The clock measures growth momentum, not price. Peak means growing fastest, not about to fall. Cycle data and projections sourced from HtAG Analytics. See Port Phillip on the clock.
Free · One per person
Want all of this written up for Port Phillip?
The full report is this data as a written document, plus the current price, rent, yield and growth on one suburb inside Port Phillip, and the numbers that cut against the area. I write them by hand, so it comes from me rather than out of a system.
The numbers, explained
Port Phillip in charts.
The typical house in Port Phillip went from $1,185,859 in 2010 to $2,051,851 in August 2026. That is +73% in total, +3.4% a year. It went backwards 4 years in a row at one point. Any market can have a bad year. The ones that stack them are the ones that hurt, and this is the number we weigh most.
Houses · price change each year · 2011 to 2026
Prices in Port Phillip fell in 6 of the last 15 years
+73%
Since 2010
+1.4%
Per year, last 10 years
6 of 15
Years going backwards
-1.7%
Worst year (2023)
What this shows. How much the typical house price in Port Phillip went up or down each year. Teal bars are up years, red bars are down years, and the faded bar is this year so far.
Why it matters. The size of a good year matters less than how many bad years there were and whether they came in a row. Boring? Absolutely. But the length of the down stretch is what decides whether you get out the other side. Typical price at December each year, data from HtAG Analytics.
You don't need to know property to read this. Every chart below opens with the point in one line, then says what it shows and why we care. Teal is a good sign, amber is okay, red means watch it.
The scorecard · 7 things we check
Port Phillip scores 18 out of 35. Mixed.
prices are rising and speeding up
6 of 15 years
1.2 new homes approved per 100 that exist
population growing 0.7% a year
4.9% unemployed, Australia 4.2%
a house costs 16.1 years of a local household's income
1.7% of rentals are empty, so about 2 in every 100
What this shows. Seven quick checks on Port Phillip, each scored out of five. Five is the reading we most want to see.
Why it matters. No single number tells you whether an area is a good buy. Together they show whether the pieces line up. These are bands, not rules: a council outside a band can still be the right buy for the right person, and one inside every band can still be wrong for you.
House prices since 2010 · Port Phillip vs the 5 most similar councils in VIC
Port Phillip has grown more slowly than similar councils over ten years
-0.5% vs +0.0%
A year, last 5 years
+1.4% vs +1.9%
A year, last 10 years
+3.3% vs +3.5%
A year, last 15 years
What this shows. The typical house price in Port Phillip every year, in teal, next to the middle of the five councils in VIC closest to it in size and starting price: Stonnington, Bayside, Yarra, Moonee Valley, Banyule. The small "vs" number in each tile is those councils.
Why it matters. Sometimes a slower market is catching up, sometimes it is being passed. The jobs and supply readings on this page tell you which.
Momentum · the last 36 months
Prices in Port Phillip are moving at a steady pace
$2,048,581
3-month price, August 2026
+0.5%
3-month price vs 12-month price
677 vs 764
Houses sold, last 12 months vs the 12 before
What this shows. Two versions of the same price. The dotted teal line averages the last three months, so it reacts fast. The grey line averages the last twelve, so it moves slowly. The bars are how many houses sold each month.
Why it matters. The three-month and twelve-month prices are moving together. No acceleration either way.
New homes · approvals as a share of all the homes here
Not many new homes are being built in Port Phillip
What this shows. For every 100 homes already in Port Phillip, how many new ones the council approved each year. The teal band is the range we call balanced.
Why it matters. Fewer new homes means the ones that exist stay in demand. It can also mean building here is hard or slow, which cuts the same way. The home count is the population divided by the average household size, so treat the rate as a guide rather than a census.
Affordability · house price in years of local household income
A house in Port Phillip costs 16.1 years of a local family's income
What this shows. Take the typical house price and divide it by what a typical household here earns in a year. A bar of 7 means seven years of the whole household's income buys one house.
Why it matters. Expensive for the people who live here. Prices at this level need outside buyers to keep moving, and outside buyers are the first to leave when things wobble. Income is the 2021 Census figure carried forward at 3.5% a year, so it is an estimate, not a measurement.
Rents · typical weekly house rent, last 36 months · and how many rentals sit empty
Rent in Port Phillip is $1,107 a week, up 8.6% in a year
$1,107
A week, August 2026
+8.6%
Change in the last year
1.7%
Rentals sitting empty (balanced)
What this shows. What a typical house in Port Phillip rents for each week, month by month. The empty-rentals number is the share of rental homes with nobody in them: under 1.5% is tight, over 3% means tenants have plenty of choice.
Why it matters. Rents rising faster than inflation means more people want to live here than there are homes to rent. That pressure eventually shows up in prices.
Rental yield · a year of rent as a share of the price, Port Phillip vs similar councils
Rent covers 2.8% of the price each year in Port Phillip
What this shows. Yield is simple: a whole year of rent divided by the house price. A $500,000 house renting for $500 a week earns $26,000 a year, which is a 5.2% yield.
Why it matters. Higher than similar councils, which are around 2.4%. The rent does more of the heavy lifting here, so holding costs less out of pocket. We don't buy on yield alone and we never set a yield cut-off; it is one piece of the picture, next to growth.
The people
Who lives in Port Phillip.
The population has grown a steady +0.7% a year over the last five years. Interesting mix underneath: locals have been leaving on net (-2,872 over three years) while overseas migration more than filled the gap (12,136). Worth understanding who is arriving and what housing they need. The median age is 38 and the median household brings in $2,069 a week (Census 2021). 51% of households rent, a deep tenant pool if you're buying to hold, and more investor competition when stock is tight.
Population · ABS estimates 2015 to 2025
Port Phillip is growing steadily: 114,434 people, up +0.7% a year
114,434
People, 2025
+0.7% vs +0.6%
A year, last 5 years · typical VIC council
+0.7%
A year, last 10 years
Why it matters. Steady growth is enough to keep demand ahead of supply, as long as building stays sensible.
Where the growth came from · last 3 years
Overseas arrivals are doing the heavy lifting in Port Phillip: 12,136 in three years
Net change: +10,617 people over three years.
What this shows. Three ways a place gains or loses people: babies born minus people who died, people who moved here from another part of Australia, and people who arrived from overseas. Bars to the right add people, bars to the left take them away.
Why it matters. Overseas arrivals usually rent first, so this kind of growth shows up in rents before it shows up in prices.
Age and households · Census 2021
Port Phillip is younger than the typical VIC council: median age 38 vs 42
Port Phillip Typical VIC council (middle of 78)
Why it matters. A younger area means first-home buyers, growing families and renters. Three-bedroom houses near schools and jobs are the bread and butter.
Income and who owns the homes · Census 2021
Port Phillip is a renters' market: 51% of homes are rented, vs 21% in the typical VIC council
Own or paying off Renting Other
Why it matters. Lots of renters means a deep tenant pool if you are buying to hold, and more investor competition when stock is tight.
New supply
What's being approved to build.
727 dwellings were approved in FY26, 22 of them houses. Approvals are trending down. If demand holds, thinning supply is how pressure builds under prices and rents. On the non-residential side, $523 million of building was approved in FY26, $371 million of it public money. Governments build where they expect people. Within that, $146 million of education and health buildings have been approved across the last three financial years. Schools and hospitals are the most honest signal governments give about where they expect families.
Homes approved · ABS, by financial year
Not much new is being built in Port Phillip: 727 homes approved in FY26
Houses Units, townhouses and other
727
Homes approved, FY26
3%
Of them houses
1.2%
New homes per 100 that exist
What this shows. How many new homes the council approved each financial year, split into houses and everything else. Approved is not built, but it is the earliest warning of supply on the way.
Why it matters. When little gets built, the homes already here do not have much competition. Good for prices, as long as people keep arriving.
Non-residential building approved · ABS
Government spending on buildings in Port Phillip is rising: $371m approved in FY26
Government projects All non-residential
$523m
All sectors, FY26
$371m
Government, FY26
$146m
Schools and health, last 3 years
What this shows. The dollar value of shops, offices, schools, hospitals and other non-home buildings approved each year. The darker bar is the government's share.
Why it matters. Governments build where they expect people. Schools and hospitals are the most honest signal they give about where families are heading. For the named projects behind these numbers, ask for the full report.
Jobs
Who's working in Port Phillip.
Work here runs on professional services (16% of jobs), ahead of health care and social assistance and education and training. 10,625 more residents are in work than five years ago (+16.1%). That is strong jobs growth, and it usually shows up in housing demand with a lag. Unemployment tracks close to the national average at 4.9%. On the ABS advantage index this council ranks in the top 10% of the country, which you'll notice in the price tags.
Jobs · SALM, March 2026
10,625 more people in Port Phillip have a job than five years ago
76,592
Residents in work
4.9% vs 4.2%
Unemployed · Australia
+16.1%
Jobs change, 5 years
Port Phillip Australia
Why it matters. Strong jobs growth shows up in housing demand with a lag. People get the job first and buy the house a year or two later.
Who employs people here · Census 2021
Professional services is the biggest employer in Port Phillip, 16% of jobs
What this shows. The five industries that employ the most residents, as a share of all jobs. The pill is the ABS advantage score: Port Phillip sits in decile 10 of 10 nationally, where 10 is the most advantaged.
Why it matters. A spread of employers means no single closure can empty the town. That is the kind of job base that holds house prices through a downturn.
The outlook
Is Port Phillip worth buying into?
Put the drivers together and the case for Port Phillip is: a job base that has expanded, public building spend trending up, new supply thinning out. None of this guarantees anything. It tells you where to look harder, which is what a report like this is for.
Free · Written by hand · One per person
This page is the public data. The full report is that written up as a document, plus the current price, rent, yield and growth on one suburb inside Port Phillip. One per person.
Name, email and phone. I write these by hand, one per person, and the conversation afterwards is the only thing the report costs.
Inside the LGA
The suburbs of Port Phillip.
Next step. See what's for sale in St Kilda on realestate.com.au or Domain. Then send me the address before you make an offer. That is the part the data cannot do.
All 10 suburbs and localities in Port Phillip
Albert Park · Balaclava · Elwood · Middle Park · Port Melbourne · Ripponlea · South Melbourne · St Kilda · St Kilda East · St Kilda West
Written up suburb by suburb in Port Phillip: Port Melbourne · Ripponlea · St Kilda · Balaclava
Free · Written by hand · One per person
Want the full workup on Port Phillip?
This page is the public data. The full report is the written workup: current price, rent, gross yield and vacancy, growth over 1, 3, 5 and 10 years, days on market and demand, and the supply coming down the pipe, for Port Phillip or any suburb in it. Same data we run for clients. I pull it and email it through, usually within a business day. One per person, no charge, and no 14-part email sequence afterwards. All I ask is that if it lands, you take the fifteen minute call at the end of it.
Name, email and phone. I write these by hand, one per person, and the conversation afterwards is the only thing the report costs.
Keep comparing
Markets of a similar size in VIC.
A council only makes sense in context. These are the VIC markets closest to Port Phillip in population, each with its own written report.
General information only, not financial or investment advice. Cycle positions and projections are modelled LGA-level figures to July 2026, sourced from HtAG Analytics. Population and approvals are ABS estimates; employment is SALM smoothed data; income, age and tenure are Census 2021. None of it can see street quality, flood maps, zoning or the contract, which is where deals are actually won and lost. Get advice on your own situation before acting.
Data finds the area. It doesn't buy the house.
We narrow 15,000 suburbs to the top 5 for each client, then find the street and the property. If Port Phillip is on your list, that's a conversation worth having early.