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Briar Hill house prices & rent trends — the risks to check before you buy

Briar Hill is an established suburb with an older, more settled population — median age 42, among the most socio-economically advantaged areas in the state on the ABS's SEIFA index. Housing here is overwhelmingly standalone houses. The area is still light on cafés, shops and other everyday amenity. It's not served by train or tram. The median house price sits at $996,000. Worth weighing against who lives here and how the area is set up, before you look at the planning and risk checks below for a specific property in Briar Hill.

Ready to look at a specific property here? See the due diligence hub for what to verify before you sign.

House median
$996,000
▲ 2.9%/yr
Unit median
$890,000
apartment / flat
Median rent
$411/wk
per week
Gross yield
2.1%
rent ÷ house price

Delora's modelled price context for Briar Hill

How Briar Hill's current median compares with what Delora's hedonic model estimates from the suburb's own fundamentals — separate from the official-record figures below, and not a valuation of any individual property.

Modelled price context

Modelled 23% below its estimated fundamentals

$996,000
current median
$1,288,000
modelled fundamentals estimate

Historically, suburbs trading below their modelled fundamentals have more often than not gone on to beat the metro median — but a substantial minority haven't, so read this as a reason to look closer, not a prediction. Even on the more cautious end of the model's uncertainty range, Briar Hill still models at least 18% below its estimated fundamentals.

This is a suburb-level model, not a valuation of any individual property, and not investment advice — see the methodology below.

Suburbs with the largest modelled gap →   What drives this price? →   Why do estimates never agree? →   Checking a specific listing's price →

See what's driving that number (methodology)
The local safety recordadds about $101k
How popular it is with work-from-home buyersadds about $53k
Incomes & jobs in the areaadds about $32k
The general location and prestigeadds about $30k
How good the tram access iscuts about $30k
How close it is to the coastcuts about $25k

This model compares Briar Hill with a typical Greater Melbourne suburb on the things buyers actually care about — location, transport, schools, incomes and risk — then estimates a dollar figure for the difference. These are the factors contributing most to the estimate above. The model carries genuine uncertainty (see the range noted above) and describes the suburb, not any specific property in it.

SuburbHeritageFlood

Suburb boundary with planning overlays — toggle them top-right. Map © OpenStreetMap, © CARTO; overlays © Vicmap Planning.

Briar Hill by the numbers

Cost & market
Typical house price
$996,000
median sale · ▲ 2.9% / yr
Typical unit price
$890,000
median apartment / flat
Typical rent
$411/wk
median weekly (Census 2021)
Rental yield
2.1%
gross — annual rent ÷ house price
Who lives here
Population
3,220
usual residents (Census 2021)
Owner-occupied
78%
20% rented
Median age
42 yrs
of residents
Personal income
$940/wk
median, per week
Household income
$1,935/wk
median, per week
Avg household size
2.4 people
people per home · 73% family households
Monthly mortgage
$2,167/mo
median repayment
Recorded crime
90 per 1,000 residents
a year, across all of Banyule council, not just Briar Hill · around the state average
How advantaged the area is

Deciles 1–10 vs all Victorian areas — 10 = most advantaged — from the ABS SEIFA index. A demographic measure, not a house-price one. These three don’t always move together — a suburb with lots of renters or students, for example, can score high on education but lower on income and housing costs.

Overall advantage
9/10
Among Victoria's most advantaged areas
Economic resources
6/10
income, housing costs & wealth
Education & occupation
9/10
qualifications & skilled jobs
The homes here

Mix of dwelling types across the suburb (Census 2021)

Houses 86%Townhouses 14%Apartments 0%

Who owns and rents here (Census 2021)

Owned 78%Private rental 15%Social housing 1%
More detail on building height and bedroom mix (Census 2021)

Bedroom mix (share of all occupied dwellings):

  • Studio or 1 bedroom: 1%
  • 2 bedrooms: 17%
  • 3 bedrooms: 56%
  • 4 or more bedrooms: 25%

Not sure whether a house, townhouse or apartment suits you? Decide what to buy →

Location & lifestyle
Distance to the CBD
~18 km
from the suburb centre
Getting around
0 train · 0 tram · 15 bus
nearest train station ~1.0 km · counts are stop points, not stations (a station is often several)
Cafés & amenity density
0 cafés
Low café & amenity density — likely more car-dependent
Restaurants
1
places to eat nearby
Supermarkets
0
grocery stores nearby
Pharmacies
1
chemists nearby
Parks
6
green space nearby
Schools
2
primary & secondary
Nearest Centrelink
~1.3 km
outside the suburb
Zoning & planning controls — check before you buy

Land use across the suburb (planning zones)

Residential 90%Public / Parks 4%Other 4%
Zoning
Residential
mostly Neighbourhood Residential Zone – Schedule 3 (NRZ3) · 89% of the suburb
Heritage overlay
Very low · 1%
2 named overlay areas (HO99, HO128) — oldest gazetted 2001
Flood overlay
Low · 5%
of the suburb — verify this address
Bushfire overlay
Very low · 0%
of the suburb — verify this address
Building & development controls

Planning overlays that can affect building, renovating or removing vegetation somewhere in Briar Hill — confirm whether any apply to the specific address.

  • Design & Development Overlay — height, setback or design rules on new building
  • Vegetation Protection Overlay — a permit is needed to remove or lop protected trees
  • Significant Landscape Overlay — controls to protect the area’s landscape character
  • Environmental Significance Overlay — environmental values that constrain development
  • Development-contributions levy — new development pays an infrastructure contribution

Overlay colours reflect how much of the suburb an overlay covers — green under ~8%, amber ~8–20%, red above 20%. Public-acquisition, contamination (EAO) and floodway overlays are flagged (below) wherever they apply, because even a small area can include a specific property.
Recorded crime is a council-wide rate — every offence police logged over the latest year (theft, property damage, drug and traffic offences and the like, not only violent crime) divided by the council’s residents. A broad area signal, not a figure for this exact street.
All figures are suburb-level indicators, not property-specific — always confirm the exact address on the Section 32. Sources: ABS Census 2021, Valuer-General Victoria, DFFH Rental Report, Crime Statistics Agency Victoria, Vicmap Planning, Victorian Government UDP, Victorian Department of Education (schools & zones, via data.vic, CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap. What do these terms mean?

How Briar Hill compares

Where Briar Hill ranks against other suburbs on the measures buyers ask about — a higher bar isn’t always “better”, it’s just where this suburb sits.

Price
more expensive than 45%
Advantage
more advantaged than 60%
Recorded crime (council area)
lower recorded crime than 27%
Café & amenity density
denser in cafés & shops than 1%
CBD access
closer to the city than 61%
Price
more expensive than 18%
Advantage
more advantaged than 24%
Café & amenity density
denser in cafés & shops than 1%
CBD access
closer to the city than 6%

Prices & rents over time

How Briar Hill’s market has moved — up to 12 years of sale prices and 20+ years of rents.

Median sale price over time
By year (Valuer-General Victoria). Small-suburb medians can swing year to year on a few big sales — read the trend, not the wiggles.
HousesUnits
YearHousesUnits
2024$950,000$885,000
2023$1,001,000$863,000
2022$984,500$775,000
2021$1,015,000$799,500
2020$863,000$723,000
2019$823,500$650,000
2018$880,000$667,000
2017$833,000$670,000
2016$721,500$651,000
2015$680,000$575,000
2014$633,000$485,500
2013$572,500$450,000

New development pipeline

Major residential redevelopment tracked by the Victorian Government (UDP 2025) — infill and apartment/townhouse sites, not greenfield house-and-land estates.

~15 new dwellings · 1 major project · 0% apartments
New dwellings by project stage (Victorian Government · UDP 2025).
Under construction 15

Planning changes in Briar Hill

No zone changes or new planning overlays have been recorded on land in Briar Hill since 2017 — its planning rules have stayed put over the period we track. That stability is itself worth knowing.

Source: Vicmap Planning Scheme History (2017–present). How Melbourne’s zoning actually changed over the decade →

Schools

Parts of Briar Hill fall within 3 primary and 1 secondary government school catchments. 2 schools are located within the suburb (2 government).

Government schools have address-based catchment zones; Catholic and independent schools set their own enrolment processes.

Zoned government schools
Catchments that cover part of Briar Hill — a suburb can span several, and your exact address decides which applies. Confirm at findmyschool.vic.gov.au.
Primary
Briar Hill Primary SchoolGreenhills Primary SchoolSherbourne Primary School
Secondary
Montmorency Secondary College
Schools in Briar Hill
Every school physically located within the suburb, by sector and type.
Briar Hill Primary School · Government primarySherbourne Primary School · Government primary

What to check before you buy in Briar Hill

Briar Hill has relatively light heritage-overlay coverage (about 1%), though it can still apply to individual parcels. Parts of the suburb (about 5%) sit under flood-related overlays. The specific things worth confirming here, plus the two every buyer should check.

C1

Check for a flood overlay

Parts of Briar Hill (~5%) sit under flood-related overlays. Confirm whether this address is affected.

C2

Easements & covenants

Check Section 3 for easements (e.g. drainage/sewer along a boundary — you usually can’t build over them) and restrictive covenants (single-dwelling, materials, height) that limit your plans.

C3

Owners corporation (if applicable)

Apartments and many townhouses in Briar Hill are in an owners corporation. If so, the statement must include its certificate — review annual fees, any special levies, the maintenance fund and insurance.

Already under contract in Briar Hill?

Buyer questions about Briar Hill

What should I check in a Section 32 for Briar Hill?

For Briar Hill, pay particular attention to heritage overlays (about 1% of the suburb is affected), any flood-related overlay (~5%), easements and restrictive covenants on the title, and — for apartments — the owners-corporation certificate with its fees and any special levies.

Does Briar Hill have heritage overlays?

Heritage overlays cover a small share of Briar Hill (about 1%) — not common, but still worth a quick check: confirm in the Section 32's planning section whether a Heritage Overlay applies to this specific parcel, since it restricts demolition and external changes.

Is a free Section 32 review legal advice?

No. Delora gives a fast, plain-English review to help you understand the statement and ask better questions. Always have a licensed conveyancer or solicitor review the contract before you sign.

Neighbouring suburbs

The 4 suburbs that border Briar Hill.

Browse all suburbs →

Learn how to use this page

The heritage, flood and bushfire figures above are suburb-wide — they tell you how common an overlay is here, not whether it applies to one specific address. Confirm via VicPlan and an in-person inspection before you rely on them.