Forest Hill, Whitehorse: house prices, rent and what to check before you buy
Forest Hill median house price: $1,298,000 in the Jan–Mar 2026 quarter, from 26 sales (Valuer-General Victoria), up 7.3% on the Jan–Mar 2025 quarter. Median unit price: $915,000 (Jan–Mar 2026 quarter). Median rent: $650 a week (DFFH Rental Report, year to Sep 2025). Postcode 3131.
What stands out: Its unit median is higher than 89% of the 319 Greater Melbourne suburbs with a reliable unit median (Valuer-General Victoria); its median rent is higher than 90% of the 484 Greater Melbourne suburbs with a reliable rent figure (DFFH Rental Report).
Page updated · market data to Mar 2026
- Zoning: mostly General Residential zone (GRZ1), 53% of the land
- Planning change: no rezoning or new overlays recorded since 2017
- School zones: parts of Forest Hill are zoned for Blackburn Lake Primary School and Burwood Heights Primary School (+4 more) (primary); Forest Hill College and Vermont Secondary College (secondary)
- Getting there: 50 min to Clayton (Monash University) by public transport (modelled)
- House median
- $1,298,000
- Mar qtr 2026 · up 7.3% on Mar qtr 2025
- Higher than 66% of the 423 Greater Melbourne suburbs with a reliable house median · 26 sales in the quarter
- Valuer-General Victoria
- Unit median
- $915,000
- Mar qtr 2026 · up 5.2% on Mar qtr 2025
- Higher than 89% of the 319 Greater Melbourne suburbs with a reliable unit median · 13 sales in the quarter
- Valuer-General Victoria
- Median rent
- $650/wk
- year to Sep 2025
- Higher than 90% of the 484 Greater Melbourne suburbs with a reliable rent figure · from 783 leases
- DFFH Rental Report
- Gross yield
- 2.6%
- rent year to Sep 2025 / house median Mar qtr 2026
- Higher than 57% of the 156 Greater Melbourne suburbs with a reliable gross yield
- Calculated by Delora from the two figures above
- Planning risk
- Flood 2% LowBushfire 0% Very lowHeritage 1% Very low
- share of suburb land area
- Vicmap Planning
- Getting around
- 2.1 km to nearest station
- 50 min to Clayton (Monash University) by public transport (modelled)
- 6 zoned primary, 2 secondary schools
- PTV timetable data · Delora commute model · Victorian Department of Education school zones
Forest Hill is an established suburb with an older, more settled population — median age 42, around the state average on the ABS's SEIFA index of socio-economic advantage. Housing is mixed, with a notable share of townhouses (around 25%) alongside houses. The area is still light on cafés, shops and other everyday amenity. It's well served by tram, though not by train.
Ready to look at a specific property here? See the due diligence hub for what to verify before you sign.
Scope: Victoria, Australia. Suburb data here is Victorian (state valuer, rental, planning and school records); Greater Melbourne comparison group.
In this profile
- Planning and riskZones, overlays, flood and bushfire, and what is planned nearby, with an address check.
- Prices and rentsMedian prices and rents, how they have moved, and sales volume.
- SchoolsThe government school zones that cover the suburb.
- Living hereTransport, commute times, who lives here and the suburbs nearby.
- Before you buyThe checks every purchase needs, common questions and guides.
Risk and planning in Forest Hill
Forest Hill has relatively light heritage-overlay coverage (about 1%), though it can still apply to individual parcels.
Suburb-wide shares of the land, not a check of any one address.
Flood-related overlays can add building rules and raise insurance cost.
Share of the suburb. Source: Vicmap Planning · Verify this address
If it applies it adds bushfire construction requirements (a BAL rating) and cost.
Share of the suburb. Source: Vicmap Planning · Verify this address
No part of Forest Hill is in a designated bushfire prone area. That is the building system’s map, not proof that bushfire can’t reach the suburb.
Share of the suburb. Source: Designated Bushfire Prone Area (DataVic) · Verify this address
Changes to the outside of a building, and demolition, need council approval. 5 named overlay areas (HO272, HO113, HO25 +2 more) — oldest gazetted 2001.
Share of the suburb. Source: Vicmap Planning · Verify this address
On summer mornings in 2017–18 the ground surface across Forest Hill averaged 8.0 °C above the non-urban baseline, cooler than 62% of metropolitan Melbourne suburbs. (Clean Air and Urban Landscapes Hub, for the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, verified 23 Oct 2026) Tree cover was 16.9%, more tree cover than 71% of these suburbs.
It measures the surface, not the air temperature, and is a guide to exposure, not a forecast. (Clean Air and Urban Landscapes Hub, for the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, verified 23 Oct 2026) Streets vary: Address Check shows the figure for an address.
Averaged over the suburb’s mesh blocks. Source: Urban Heat Islands and Urban Vegetation 2018 (DataVic)
Zoning mix and building controls
Land use across the suburb (planning zones)
- Zoning
- Residential
- mostly General Residential Zone – Schedule 1 (GRZ1) · 53% of the suburb
Planning overlays that can affect building, renovating or removing vegetation somewhere in Forest 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
- Development-contributions levy — new development pays an infrastructure contribution
Planning changes in Forest Hill: none recorded since 2017
No zone changes or new planning overlays have been recorded on land in Forest 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 →
- Suburb
- Heritage
- Flood
Layers on this map, as a table
| Layer | Share of suburb | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Suburb boundary | The whole suburb | ABS SAL 2021 |
| Heritage overlay | 1% | Vicmap Planning |
| Flood overlay | 2% | Vicmap Planning |
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 listed above under "Worth checking" wherever they apply, because even a small area can include a specific property. Source: Vicmap Planning. What do these terms mean? · How to verify planning controls for an address
Cost and market in Forest Hill
Market pulse: is Forest Hill busier or quieter than a year ago?
VGV sales to Mar 2026 · DFFH rents to Sep 2025 · ABS approvals to Aug 2026
Busier than a year ago The median house price changed +7.3% on the same quarter a year earlier (Jan–Mar 2026 quarter), and 138 houses sold in the last four quarters against 122 in the four before.
Prices and sales are both up on a year ago. If you're buying here, have your finance approval in date and set your walk-away price before inspections, so a competitive auction doesn't set it for you. Setting a walk-away price →
| Measure | Change | What it's based on |
|---|---|---|
| House prices | +7.3% · rising | Median house $1,298,000 in the Jan–Mar 2026 quarter (26 sales), against $1,210,000 a year earlier (23 sales). The quarter before: +3.5%. |
| Houses sold | +13.1% · more | 138 houses sold in the four quarters to Mar 2026, against 122 in the four quarters before. |
| Unit prices | Not measured | Fewer than 20 sales in the Jan–Mar 2026 quarter or the same quarter a year earlier: too few to compare. |
| Rents (all homes) | +8.3% · rising | Median $650 a week for new leases in the year to Sep 2025, against $600 a year earlier. These are the figures for DFFH's Vermont-Forest Hill-Burwood East rental area, which covers more than one suburb. |
| New leases | −9.3% · about the same | 907 new lettings in the year to Sep 2025, against 1,000 a year earlier. These are the figures for DFFH's Vermont-Forest Hill-Burwood East rental area, which covers more than one suburb. |
| New homes approved (council) | +6.7% · about the same | 879 dwellings approved across the council Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, against 824 in the 12 months before. |
What sales volume tells you → Reading rental demand →
Among the 9 other Whitehorse suburbs with a comparable houses figure for that quarter, 6 changed less and 3 changed more. Across the 285 Victorian suburbs on Delora with a comparable figure, the middle change was +7.4%. Over 5 years the calendar-year median house price went from $986,000 (2020) to $1,222,500 (2025), +24.0% or about +4.4% a year.
Checking an asking price in Forest Hill
A suburb median is the middle sale, not the value of any one home. Here, the middle house sale in the Jan–Mar 2026 quarter was $1,298,000 (26 sales): half sold for more, half for less, so a price above it isn't overpaying on its own. It's a gap the comparable sales should explain, through land size, condition or position.
- Ask the agent for the Property Price Statement (a listing from before the change may still carry a Statement of Information (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 27 Sep 2026)). It gives an indicative price and the three most comparable sales (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026), and since it replaced the Statement of Information in the 2026 underquoting reform it also lists the bedrooms, bathrooms, floor area and land size of each comparable home (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 27 Sep 2026).
- Check those sales really are comparable: a similar standard of home, sold within 2 km in the last 6 months in metropolitan Melbourne, or within 5 km in the last 18 months elsewhere (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026).
- An advertised price is a guide only, and a home selling above it isn't by itself proof of underquoting (Consumer Affairs Victoria, verified 30 Jul 2026).
What open data can't tell you
Auction clearance rates, days on market, the number of homes for sale and how far sellers drop their price are not published as open government data. They come from private listing and data companies under paid licences, so Delora doesn't show them. For a home you're looking at, ask the agent how long it has been listed, whether it was passed in at auction, and what its first price guide was.
How the market pulse is worked out
Prices compare the latest quarterly median with the same quarter a year earlier, using only quarters with at least 20 sales and no thin-market flag from the Valuer-General. A direction is called only when the quarter before agrees: both changes at least +3% is rising, both at most −3% is falling, both within 3% is about the same, anything else is mixed. Sales compare the latest four quarters with the four before (a change of 10% or more counts as more or fewer). Sales are counted when they settle (Valuer-General Victoria / Land Use Victoria, verified 29 Jul 2026), so these figures trail contracts signed in the last few months.
Rents are the Rental Report's moving-annual median for all homes, from new lettings only (Homes Victoria / Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, verified 29 Jul 2026), compared with the same quarter a year earlier (3% band); new leases use a 10% band. Dwelling approvals are the ABS count for the whole council, not this suburb; an approval is the permit to start building, not a finished home (Australian Bureau of Statistics, verified 27 Sep 2026) (10% band). The reading at the top uses the price direction and sales count of houses, or of units where houses have no comparable figure.
Sources: Victorian Property Sales Report (data.vic), Rental Report (data.vic), ABS Building Approvals (all CC BY 4.0).
| Median house price (Mar qtr 2026) | $1,298,000 |
|---|---|
| Stamp duty | $71,390 |
| Land Use Victoria transfer and mortgage fees | $3,271.20 |
| Government costs on top of the price | $74,661.20 |
Work out your own figure in the stamp duty calculator →
Price outlook: what the Forest Hill median could be in 3 and 5 years
Start from the 2025 calendar-year median house price here, $1,222,500. For suburbs like Forest Hill, three-year outcomes since 2016 put the 2028 median between $1,179,227 and $1,751,277 in about 76% of cases (the range was aimed at 80%; that is how often it held on years it had not seen), with $1,437,765 in the middle. The chance the median is lower than today in three years is about 15%: a low chance, not a remote one. A large part of that spread is the market rather than the suburb: 35% of the variation in three-year outcomes across Victorian suburbs is explained by the year the clock started.
| Horizon | Range (aimed at 80%) | Middle | Chance it is lower | Range held on unseen years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In 3 years (2028) | $1,179,227 to $1,751,277 | $1,437,765 (+18%) | 15% | 76% of 7 years |
| In 5 years (2030) | $1,321,673 to $1,898,993 | $1,546,218 (+26%) | 4% | 74% of 5 years |
How to use this
- If you might need to sell within three years, the bottom of the range and the chance of a lower median are the figures that matter most, with selling costs on top.
- The range is for the suburb's median, not for one home. A home bought above the median, or one with a problem the address report turns up, can do worse than the suburb.
- A wide range is the honest answer. A single-number forecast for a suburb hides this spread; treat one as a middle value with a range like this around it.
How the price outlook is worked out
The model starts from the Valuer-General's calendar-year median house price for every Victorian suburb with one (Valuer-General Victoria / Land Use Victoria, verified 29 Jul 2026), from 2016 onward. For each year and suburb it asks what happened to the median three and five years later, and relates that to what was knowable at the time: the suburb's one- and three-year price momentum, its price level against the state, a fair-value gap (the residual of a within-year regression of price on slow suburb characteristics: socio-economic index, distance to the CBD and the coast, income, education and commuting), gross rental yield where the Rental Report covers the suburb, and the socio-economic index and distance to the CBD themselves. Quantile regression estimates the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 90th percentiles directly.
Every year is then held out in turn: the model is refitted without that year's outcomes and its ranges are checked against them. The published range is the model's middle plus the 10th and 90th percentiles of those held-out errors, so the range was tuned to contain 80% of past outcomes (conformal calibration); the "range held" figure is measured on years the calibration never saw. "Chance it is lower" is the share of held-out errors that would leave the median below the starting price. Across 773 suburbs and 7 starting years (2016 to 2022), the 80% range held 76% of the time and the 50% range 45%. The three-year range held 76%, short of the 80% it was aimed at, so read it as somewhat too narrow: the real chance of an outcome outside it is closer to 24% than 20%. The five-year range held 74%, short of the 80% it was aimed at, so read it as somewhat too narrow: the real chance of an outcome outside it is closer to 26% than 20%.
| Bought, then sold | Suburbs | Inside the range aimed at 80% | Inside the range aimed at 50% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 to 2019 | 745 | 80% | 57% |
| 2017 to 2020 | 766 | 89% | 71% |
| 2018 to 2021 | 782 | 80% | 47% |
| 2019 to 2022 | 786 | 61% | 29% |
| 2020 to 2023 | 786 | 84% | 62% |
| 2021 to 2024 | 777 | 93% | 37% |
| 2022 to 2025 | 771 | 45% | 11% |
Limits. A short run of yearly medians gives only 7 starting years, so the market effect is estimated from that many draws and the ranges are wide. Suburb characteristics other than momentum and yield are held at today's values for past years. A median from few sales is noisy, and VGV's thin-market medians are left out. The model is calibrated on 2016-2025; a market without precedent in that period can fall outside every range. It never values an individual home.
Model outlook-qr-v1, run 2026-10-27. Source: Victorian Property Sales Report, time series (data.vic), CC BY 4.0. The code is analysis/price_outlook.py in Delora's repository.
General information, not financial advice. It describes how suburb medians have behaved, not what any home will sell for.
How Forest Hill compares
Where Forest Hill ranks against other Greater Melbourne suburbs Delora covers, on the measures buyers ask about — a higher bar isn’t always “better”, it’s just where this suburb sits.
Show recorded crime and amenity-density comparisons
New development pipeline: ~640 new dwellings · 2 major projects · 26% apartments
Major residential redevelopment tracked by the Victorian Government (UDP 2025) — infill and apartment/townhouse sites, not greenfield house-and-land estates.
Schools
Parts of Forest Hill fall within 6 primary and 2 secondary government school catchments. 1 school is located within the suburb (1 government).
Government schools have address-based catchment zones; Catholic and independent schools set their own enrolment processes.
| Zone | Covers | Boundary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary school zones | |||
| Burwood Heights Primary School | 33% | — | |
| Parkmore Primary School | 29% | — | |
| Blackburn Lake Primary School | 22% | — | |
| Mount Pleasant Road Nunawading Primary School | 16% | — | |
| Secondary school zones | |||
| Forest Hill College | 87% | — | |
| Vermont Secondary College | 13% | — | |
Getting around from Forest Hill
0 train, 1 tram and 51 bus stop points sit inside the suburb (PTV timetable data).
- Distance to the CBD
- ~18 km
- from the suburb centre
- Getting around
- 0 train · 1 tram · 51 bus
- nearest train station ~2.1 km · counts are stop points, not stations (a station is often several)
- Train frequency
- every 4 min
- at the nearest station, weekday AM peak
- Tram frequency
- every 12 min
- at the nearest stop, weekday AM peak
- Schools
- 1
- primary & secondary
- Nearest Centrelink
- ~5.7 km
- outside the suburb
| Job hub | Minutes |
|---|---|
| Clayton (Monash University) | 50 min |
| South Yarra | 50 min |
| Cremorne | 52 min |
| Docklands | 52 min |
| East Melbourne | 52 min |
| Melbourne CBD | 52 min |
Show all 16 job hubs
| Job hub | Minutes |
|---|---|
| Southbank | 52 min |
| Parkville | 65 min |
| South Melbourne | 67 min |
| Dandenong | 72 min |
| Port Melbourne Industrial | 76 min |
| Mulgrave | 79 min |
| Preston | 82 min |
| Laverton | 95 min |
| Campbellfield | 118 min |
| Geelong | 134 min |
Everyday amenity (OpenStreetMap)
- Cafés & amenity density
- 3 cafés
- Low café & amenity density — likely more car-dependent
- Restaurants
- 10
- places to eat nearby
- Supermarkets
- 5
- grocery stores nearby
- Pharmacies
- 3
- chemists nearby
- Hospitals
- 2
- in the suburb
- Parks
- 19
- green space nearby
- Childcare
- 3
- centres nearby
- GP & medical centres
- 1
- nearby
Who lives in Forest Hill
— 10,780 residents · median age 42 · 71% own their home · SEIFA 6/10
- Population
- 10,780
- usual residents (Census 2021)
- Owner-occupied
- 71%
- 71% own, 16% private rent, 5% social, 8% other or not stated
- Median age
- 42 yrs
- of residents
- Personal income
- $706/wk
- median, per week
- Household income
- $1,658/wk
- median, per week
- Avg household size
- 2.5 people
- people per home
- Monthly mortgage
- $2,123/mo
- median repayment
- Taxpayer income
- $55,130/yr
- median taxable income, per year (ATO)
- Population growth
- no data
- Recorded crime
- 69 per 1,000 residents
- a year, across all of Whitehorse council, not just Forest Hill · lower than most VIC councils
In Forest Hill itself: 923 recorded offences in the year to 2026 (Crime Statistics Agency, matched by suburb name and postcode — a closer figure than the council-wide band above, though still a count, not a rate per resident).
Offence category mix (Whitehorse council's mix, latest year):
- Property and deception offences71%
- Crimes against the person12%
- Justice procedures offences9%
- Drug offences4%
- Public order and security offences4%
- Other offences0%
Recorded offences by year, Forest Hill (up 75% since 2019):
| Year | Offences |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 527 |
| 2020 | 710 |
| 2021 | 563 |
| 2022 | 494 |
| 2023 | 558 |
| 2024 | 725 |
| 2025 | 921 |
| 2026 | 923 |
- Median household incomeup 23%
- Median personal incomeup 21%
- Median weekly rentup 10%
- Median ageolder by 2 years
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
- 6/10
- Around the Victorian average
- Economic resources
- 4/10
- income, housing costs & wealth
- Education & occupation
- 9/10
- qualifications & skilled jobs
The homes here
Mix of dwelling types across the suburb (Census 2021)
Who owns and rents here (Census 2021)
More detail on building height and bedroom mix (Census 2021)
Apartment building height (share of all dwellings in the suburb, not just apartments):
- Low-rise (1–2 storeys): 1%
- Mid-rise (3–8 storeys): 2%
Bedroom mix (share of all occupied dwellings):
- Studio or 1 bedroom: 4%
- 2 bedrooms: 16%
- 3 bedrooms: 47%
- 4 or more bedrooms: 31%
Not sure whether a house, townhouse or apartment suits you? Decide what to buy →
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.
Suburbs near Forest Hill
The 6 closest suburbs with a Delora page, by distance between suburb centres.
Compare with nearby suburbs
Before you buy in Forest Hill
Overlay and pipeline checks specific to Forest Hill are in the Planning and risk tab. Two checks apply to every purchase.
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.
Owners corporation (if applicable)
Apartments and many townhouses in Forest 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 Forest Hill?
Questions about Forest Hill
What is the median house price in Forest Hill?
The median house price in Forest Hill was $1,298,000 in the Jan–Mar 2026 quarter (Valuer-General Victoria), up 7.3% on a year earlier. The median unit price was $915,000 (Jan–Mar 2026 quarter).
What postcode is Forest Hill?
Forest Hill is in postcode 3131, in the Whitehorse council area, Victoria.
What is the population of Forest Hill?
Forest Hill had 10,780 usual residents at the 2021 Census (ABS), with a median age of 42.
Is Forest Hill in a flood zone?
About 2% of Forest Hill's land is under a flood-related planning overlay (LSIO, SBO or floodway), and less than 1% is under the Bushfire Management Overlay (Vicmap Planning). These are suburb-wide shares: whether an overlay applies to one property depends on the address, so check it on VicPlan and in the Section 32.
What should I check in a Section 32 for Forest Hill?
For Forest Hill, pay particular attention to heritage overlays (about 1% of the suburb is affected), any flood-related overlay (about 2% of the land), easements and restrictive covenants on the title, and — for apartments — the owners-corporation certificate with its fees and any special levies.
Show all 3 more questions
Does Forest Hill have heritage overlays?
Heritage overlays cover a small share of Forest 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.
How is Forest Hill zoned?
Most of Forest Hill (53% of the land) is in the General Residential (GRZ1), then NRZ3 (19%) and PPRZ (8%) (Vicmap Planning). The zone and its schedule set what can be built; check the exact zone for an address on VicPlan.
Which school zones cover Forest Hill?
Parts of Forest Hill are in the government school zones for primary: Blackburn Lake Primary School, Burwood Heights Primary School, Mount Pleasant Road Nunawading Primary School, Parkmore Primary School and 2 more; secondary: Forest Hill College, Vermont Secondary College (Victorian Department of Education school zones). A suburb can span several zones: the exact address decides which applies, so confirm it at findmyschool.vic.gov.au.
Guides for buying in Forest Hill
The heritage, flood and bushfire figures in Planning and risk 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.
Thinking of buying in Forest Hill?
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