Kooyong, Stonnington: house prices, rent and what to check before you buy
Kooyong median unit price: $730,000 in the calendar year 2025 (Valuer-General Victoria), down 50.1% on the calendar year 2024. House sales in Kooyong are too few for Valuer-General Victoria to report a reliable median. Median rent: $590 a week (ABS Census 2021, older than the price figures). Postcode 3144.
What stands out: Part of Kooyong is under a Public Acquisition Overlay (land reserved for a future public work); a flood-related overlay covers 25% of the suburb's land (Vicmap Planning).
Page updated · market data to Mar 2026
- Zoning: mostly Neighbourhood Residential zone (NRZ1), 34% of the land
- Planning change: new overlays of 3 types since 2017, latest in 2026 (details)
- School zones: parts of Kooyong are zoned for Auburn South Primary School and Malvern Central School (primary); Auburn High School (secondary)
- Getting there: 17 min to Cremorne by public transport (modelled)
- Unit median
- $730,000
- calendar year 2025 · down 50.1% on calendar year 2024
- Higher than 64% of the 319 Greater Melbourne suburbs with a reliable unit median · sales count not published
- Valuer-General Victoria
- Median rent
- $590/wk
- Census 2021 (older)
- Census 2021 median, all rented homes
- Four years older than the price figures; not directly comparable.
- ABS Census 2021
- Planning risk
- Flood 25% HighBushfire 0% Very lowHeritage 36% High
- share of suburb land area
- 3 suburb-specific overlays to check
- Vicmap Planning
- Getting around
- 0.2 km to nearest station
- 17 min to Cremorne by public transport (modelled)
- 2 zoned primary, 1 secondary schools
- PTV timetable data · Delora commute model · Victorian Department of Education school zones
Kooyong is a small community with a median age of 44, among the most socio-economically advantaged areas in the state on the ABS's SEIFA index. Housing is mixed, with a meaningful share of apartments and units (around 42%) alongside houses. The area is still light on cafés, shops and other everyday amenity. It's close to the city and well served by both train and tram. House sales here are too infrequent for a reliable median — see the unit and land figures below.
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 Kooyong
Roughly 36% of Kooyong is covered by a Heritage Overlay, so period character is common and some properties carry real renovation restrictions. It also carries meaningful flood-overlay coverage (about 25% of the suburb).
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 Kooyong 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. 9 named overlay areas (HO181, HO180, HO83 +6 more) — oldest gazetted 2016.
Share of the suburb. Source: Vicmap Planning · Verify this address
On summer mornings in 2017–18 the ground surface across Kooyong averaged 7.0 °C above the non-urban baseline, cooler than 81% 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 22.8%, more tree cover than 88% 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)
Worth checking in Kooyong
Public Acquisition Overlay
Part of Kooyong is reserved for a future public work (e.g. a road or rail project) under a Public Acquisition Overlay — land it covers can be compulsorily acquired by the authority. Check whether this specific property is affected before you commit.
Heritage Overlay likely
About 36% of Kooyong sits under a Heritage Overlay — a high-heritage suburb. Check whether one applies to this property: it can restrict demolition, extensions and even exterior paint colours, and a permit is needed for changes. Confirm it’s disclosed in the planning section.
Flood / inundation overlay risk
Roughly 25% of Kooyong carries a flood-related overlay. Confirm the land isn’t in a Land Subject to Inundation Overlay (LSIO) or Special Building Overlay (SBO) — both affect insurance, build height and what you can construct.
Zoning mix and building controls
Land use across the suburb (planning zones)
- Zoning
- Residential
- mostly Neighbourhood Residential Zone – Schedule 1 (NRZ1) · 34% of the suburb
Planning overlays that can affect building, renovating or removing vegetation somewhere in Kooyong — confirm whether any apply to the specific address.
- Significant Landscape Overlay — controls to protect the area’s landscape character
- Development-contributions levy — new development pays an infrastructure contribution
Planning changes in Kooyong: 3 recorded since 2017
Planning controls on land in Kooyong have changed since 2017. Each row below is one gazetted amendment — a batch of parcels changed together in the same notice, not a single lot — the kind of thing that moves land value and that portals don’t show.
Source: Vicmap Planning Scheme History (2017–present); parcel-level zone & overlay changes grouped by suburb, zone transition and gazettal batch. A suburb-level record — confirm the specific parcel. See how Melbourne’s zoning 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 | 36% | Vicmap Planning |
| Flood overlay | 25% | 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 Kooyong
Market pulse: is Kooyong busier or quieter than a year ago?
VGV sales to Mar 2026 · ABS approvals to Aug 2026
| Measure | Change | What it's based on |
|---|---|---|
| Unit prices | Not measured | The Valuer-General flags the median for the Jan–Mar 2026 quarter or the same quarter a year earlier as based on too few sales to compare. |
| New homes approved (council) | −31.4% · fewer | 818 dwellings approved across the council Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, against 1,193 in the 12 months before. |
What sales volume tells you → Reading rental demand →
Over 5 years the calendar-year median unit price went from $1,460,000 (2020) to $730,000 (2025), −50.0% or about −12.9% a year.
Checking an asking price in Kooyong
A suburb median is the middle sale, not the value of any one home.
- 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 unit price (2025) | $730,000 |
|---|---|
| Stamp duty | $38,870 |
| Stamp duty if you qualify as a first home buyer | $33,687 |
| Land Use Victoria transfer and mortgage fees | $1,942.20 |
| Government costs on top of the price | |
| Owner-occupier | $40,812.20 |
| First home buyer | $35,629.20 |
Work out your own figure in the stamp duty calculator →
How Kooyong compares
Where Kooyong 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: ~12 new dwellings · 1 major project · 83% 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 Kooyong fall within 2 primary and 1 secondary government school catchments. No schools sit within the suburb boundary itself, though the catchments above extend into it from neighbouring areas.
Government schools have address-based catchment zones; Catholic and independent schools set their own enrolment processes.
| Zone | Covers | Boundary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary school zones | |||
| Auburn South Primary School | 100% | — | |
| Secondary school zones | |||
| Auburn High School | 100% | — | |
Getting around from Kooyong
3 train, 6 tram and 0 bus stop points sit inside the suburb (PTV timetable data).
- Distance to the CBD
- ~7.1 km
- from the suburb centre
- Getting around
- 3 train · 6 tram · 0 bus
- nearest train station ~0.2 km · counts are stop points, not stations (a station is often several)
- Train frequency
- every 11 min
- at the nearest station, weekday AM peak
- Tram frequency
- every 10 min
- at the nearest stop, weekday AM peak
- Schools
- 0
- primary & secondary
- Nearest Centrelink
- ~3.8 km
- outside the suburb
| Job hub | Minutes |
|---|---|
| Cremorne | 17 min |
| South Yarra | 22 min |
| Southbank | 24 min |
| Docklands | 32 min |
| East Melbourne | 32 min |
| Melbourne CBD | 32 min |
Show all 16 job hubs
| Job hub | Minutes |
|---|---|
| Parkville | 38 min |
| South Melbourne | 44 min |
| Clayton (Monash University) | 53 min |
| Port Melbourne Industrial | 56 min |
| Preston | 59 min |
| Laverton | 64 min |
| Dandenong | 64 min |
| Mulgrave | 81 min |
| Campbellfield | 89 min |
| Geelong | 117 min |
Everyday amenity (OpenStreetMap)
- Cafés & amenity density
- 0 cafés
- Low café & amenity density — likely more car-dependent
- Restaurants
- 0
- places to eat nearby
- Supermarkets
- 0
- grocery stores nearby
- Pharmacies
- 0
- chemists nearby
- Parks
- 2
- green space nearby
- Childcare
- 0
- centres nearby
- GP & medical centres
- 0
- nearby
Who lives in Kooyong
— 842 residents · median age 44 · 74% own their home · SEIFA 10/10
- Population
- 842
- usual residents (Census 2021)
- Owner-occupied
- 74%
- 74% own, 18% private rent, 0% social, 8% other or not stated
- Median age
- 44 yrs
- of residents
- Personal income
- $1,428/wk
- median, per week
- Household income
- $3,218/wk
- median, per week
- Avg household size
- 2.5 people
- people per home · 71% family households
- Monthly mortgage
- $3,425/mo
- median repayment
- Taxpayer income
- $75,639/yr
- median taxable income, per year (ATO)
- Population growth
- no data
- Recorded crime
- 134 per 1,000 residents
- a year, across all of Stonnington council, not just Kooyong · higher than most VIC councils
In Kooyong itself: 83 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 (Stonnington council's mix, latest year):
- Property and deception offences72%
- Crimes against the person11%
- Justice procedures offences8%
- Drug offences5%
- Public order and security offences4%
- Other offences0%
Recorded offences by year, Kooyong (up 22% since 2019):
| Year | Offences |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 68 |
| 2020 | 83 |
| 2021 | 71 |
| 2022 | 88 |
| 2023 | 87 |
| 2024 | 82 |
| 2025 | 84 |
| 2026 | 83 |
- Median household incomeup 23%
- Median personal incomeup 24%
- Median weekly rentup 13%
- Median ageyounger by 1 year
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
- 10/10
- Among Victoria's most advantaged areas
- Economic resources
- 8/10
- income, housing costs & wealth
- Education & occupation
- 10/10
- 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): 22%
- Mid-rise (3–8 storeys): 19%
Bedroom mix (share of all occupied dwellings):
- Studio or 1 bedroom: 3%
- 2 bedrooms: 28%
- 3 bedrooms: 34%
- 4 or more bedrooms: 36%
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 Kooyong
The 6 closest suburbs with a Delora page, by distance between suburb centres.
Compare with nearby suburbs
Before you buy in Kooyong
Overlay and pipeline checks specific to Kooyong 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 Kooyong 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 Kooyong?
Questions about Kooyong
What is the median unit price in Kooyong?
The median unit price in Kooyong was $730,000 in the calendar year 2025 (Valuer-General Victoria), down 50.1% on a year earlier. House sales in Kooyong are too few for Valuer-General Victoria to report a reliable median.
What postcode is Kooyong?
Kooyong is in postcode 3144, in the Stonnington council area, Victoria.
What is the population of Kooyong?
Kooyong had 842 usual residents at the 2021 Census (ABS), with a median age of 44.
Is Kooyong in a flood zone?
About 25% of Kooyong'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 Kooyong?
For Kooyong, pay particular attention to heritage overlays (about 36% of the suburb is affected), any flood-related overlay (about 25% 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 Kooyong have heritage overlays?
About 36% of Kooyong sits under a Heritage Overlay — a high-heritage suburb. Confirm whether one applies to this property in the Section 32's planning section; it restricts demolition, extensions and even exterior paint colours, and a permit is needed for changes.
How is Kooyong zoned?
Most of Kooyong (34% of the land) is in the Neighbourhood Residential (NRZ1), then PPRZ (27%) and TRZ2 (16%) (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 Kooyong?
Parts of Kooyong are in the government school zones for primary: Auburn South Primary School, Malvern Central School; secondary: Auburn High School (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 Kooyong
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.
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