Rent vs buy · October 2026
Rent or buy in Melbourne:the weekly numbers
Unit: $109 a week more to buy than to rent. House: $459 more.
The median Melbourne house is worth $915,119 and the median unit $624,740, according to Cotality’s October 2026 index.
With 20% down at 6.57%, the middle rate across the 32 lenders we price, about 86% of a repayment is interest in its first year. The weekly figures are in the bars and tables below.
- House rent
- $616 a week
- House repayment
- $1,075 a week
- Cash to buy
- $233,001
- Rate used
- 6.57%
House and unit
Weekly figures; interest is the first-year average.
| House | Unit | |
|---|---|---|
| Median value | $915,119 | $624,740 |
| Change over the year | down 7.3% | down 3.8% |
| Rent a week | $616 | $625 |
| Repayment a week | $1,075 | $734 |
| Of which interest | $920 | $628 |
| Deposit (20%) | $183,024 | $124,948 |
| Stamp duty | $49,977 | $32,554 |
| First-home stamp duty | $49,977 | $5,369 |
| Salary to borrow it, single | $148,000 | $100,000 |
| Salary to borrow it, couple | $151,000 | $104,000 |
Salaries are where the middle of ten major lenders’ own servicing calculators reaches the loan, for a borrower with no debts or children (couples on two incomes). What each salary can borrow, lender by lender, is on the borrowing pages.
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Reading the gap
Leave it blank to compare with the median rent in Melbourne.
$920 interest, a cost like rent$155 pays down the loan
$628 interest, a cost like rent$106 pays down the loan
If you compare like with like
Set rent against the interest, $920 a week on the median house. The other $155 of the repayment pays off a loan you own.
If you have less than 20%
The table below prices the median unit and house at 10% and 5% down, and with the government’s 5% Deposit Scheme, which removes LMI up to a $950,000 price cap here.
If prices keep moving
Over the year to September, Melbourne houses went down 7.3%. Each 1% on the median house is $9,151.
If you add an owner’s costs
Council rates, insurance, repairs and strata on a unit aren’t in these figures. A tenant doesn’t pay them.
The unit rent comes out at or above the house rent because Cotality’s unit yield (5.2%) is well above its house yield (3.5%), and both are rounded to one decimal place; read the two rents as roughly equal.
With a smaller deposit
Weekly repayment and cash up front, for a first-home buyer.
Median unit
| Deposit | Repayment a week | Against rent | Cash up front | LMI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20% deposit | $734 | $109 more | $130,317 | None |
| 10% deposit | $866 | $241 more | $67,843 | $10,402 |
| 5% deposit | $972 | $347 more | $36,606 | $20,179 |
| 5%, Deposit Scheme | $940 | $315 more | $36,606 | None |
Median house
| Deposit | Repayment a week | Against rent | Cash up front | LMI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20% deposit | $1,075 | $459 more | $233,001 | None |
| 10% deposit | $1,271 | $655 more | $141,489 | $16,760 |
| 5% deposit | $1,429 | $813 more | $95,733 | $32,514 |
| 5%, Deposit Scheme | $1,377 | $761 more | $95,733 | None |
Cash up front is the deposit plus stamp duty for a first-home buyer. Below 20%, the rate adds the median step lenders on our panel charge at that deposit, and LMI (our estimate) is added to the loan. The 5% Deposit Scheme has run since 1 October 2025 with no income cap and no limit on places; a participating lender confirms the cap for the exact suburb.
Other capitals
Median house, rent against repayment.
Questions
Is it cheaper to rent or buy a house in Melbourne?
Buying the median Melbourne house costs $459 a week more than renting it. Rent on the median house ($915,119) is about $616 a week; the repayment on 80% of the price at 6.57% over 30 years is $1,075, of which $920 is interest in the first year. The rest of the repayment reduces the loan.
Is it cheaper to rent or buy a unit in Melbourne?
Buying the median Melbourne unit costs $109 a week more than renting it. Rent on the median unit ($624,740) is about $625 a week; the repayment is $734, of which $628 is interest in the first year.
What salary do I need to buy the median house in Melbourne?
About $148,000 for a single applicant, or $151,000 combined for a couple with no children, to borrow the $732,095 left after a 20% deposit. That is where the middle of ten major lenders' own servicing calculators reaches the loan, for a borrower with no other debts. For the median unit it is $100,000 single or $104,000 as a couple.
How much is stamp duty on the median Melbourne house?
About $49,977 on $915,119 for an owner-occupier, and first-home concessions don't reach that price. On the median unit it is $32,554, or $5,369 for a first-home buyer. These are our estimates from the state's published scales; the revenue office has the final figure.
Prices, yields and annual change from the Cotality Home Value Index, October 2026; weekly rent is value × Cotality’s gross yield ÷ 52, so it can be out by about $15 either way. Updated each month when Cotality publishes. Rate is the panel’s middle comparison rate for an owner-occupier at 80% LVR, priced 30 September 2026. Stamp duty is our estimate from the VIC scale. General information only, not advice about your circumstances. If a figure here looks wrong, tell us at hello@arthr.com.au.
Buying in Melbourne?
A broker at 1st Street can check what you can borrow and the rate you would get, across the whole panel.
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