Bentleigh East
VICBentleigh East is a growing suburb in VIC with 30,159 residents.
- SAL code
- 20215
- SA2
- 208021426
- Population
- 30,159
Bentleigh East, VIC had 30,159 residents at the 2021 Census, with the broader statistical area showing a 6.3% growth over the last five years. The predominant age group is 45-54 years, and the median age sits at 40. Households are most often couples with children, and those with a mortgage repay a median of $2,500 a month. Around 74.2% of homes are owner-occupied, with the largest single tenure being owned with a mortgage at 39.4%. Most dwellings are separate houses, making up 69.3% of the suburb's housing stock. The suburb has 19 parks and reserves mapped within its boundary. Source: ABS Census 2021 and Estimated Resident Population, with amenity counts from state Open Data and OpenStreetMap.
Suburb analysis
Bentleigh East, VIC at a glance
Bentleigh East is an established middle-ring south-east Melbourne suburb ~14 km from the CBD in the City of Glen Eira. Predominantly post-war single-storey houses on standard lots, with steady duplex / townhouse infill along the main roads. The data tiles below cover the demographic baseline; this card adds the live market, lifestyle, and council context they don't.
For homebuyers
Bentleigh East suits buyers who want a settled family suburb with established infrastructure rather than a renovator's frontier. Streets are tree-lined, dwelling stock skews to brick post-war houses on ~600m² lots, and the main retail draws are the Centre Road strip in Bentleigh proper (one of metro Melbourne's busiest village strips, 250+ shops) and the smaller Patterson Road and East Bentleigh shops. There's no station in the suburb itself — Patterson, Bentleigh and Ormond on the Frankston line all sit ~1.5–3 km west — and bus routes feed the Pakenham/Cranbourne line at Westall. GESAC (Glen Eira Sports and Aquatic Centre) is the standout recreation anchor, and schools include Coatesville, Tucker Road and Valkstone primaries plus Bentleigh Secondary College; nearby McKinnon Secondary College (zone borders matter) is one of the state's stronger non-selective publics. In short: a comfortable, well-serviced middle-ring suburb if you want family infrastructure and the Frankston line within walking-or-short-drive distance.
For investors
Bentleigh East is a capital-city blue-band market: low yield, strong fundamentals, deep stock. Median house $1,515,000 against ~$750/wk rent gives a ~2.84% gross yield; units sit at $1,180,000 / ~$760/wk for ~3.95% yield (Your Investment Property / htag, May 2026). 12-month capital growth: houses +2.19%, units +22.15% (Jan 2026). Days-on-market 36 (houses) / 38 (units). Volume is deep — 329 house + 229 unit sales in the past 12 months — and vacancy has tightened to ~1% post-COVID.
Strengths
- Deep transaction market (~558 sales/yr across houses + units) — easy entry/exit and reliable comparable evidence.
- Tight vacancy (~1% post-COVID, vs ~1.9% 10-year average) supports leasing velocity.
- Unit segment doing the heavy lifting — +22.15% 12-month growth on a $1.18m median (Jan 2026) reflects townhouse / duplex infill demand.
- Glen Eira blue-band fundamentals: established schools, GESAC, Centre Road retail — owner-occupier demand underpins a price floor.
Trade-offs
- House yield is thin at ~2.84% (May 2026) — strongly negatively geared at 6%+ rates without a healthy deposit.
- House capital growth has flattened to +2.19% over 12 months (Jan 2026) after the Melbourne-wide pause; not the double-digit story it was pre-2022.
- Days-on-market 36–38 days is materially longer than tight Perth / Brisbane comps — pricing discipline matters here.
- Entry price ~$1.5m for houses screens out most first-investor budgets; the unit segment is the realistic accumulation play.
What's coming
Glen Eira's 2025/26 Capital Works Program funds four raised threshold pedestrian crossings in Bentleigh East (Mackie Rd, Beddoe Ave, Cecil St, Warwick St) plus the Mackie Road Reserve Pavilion rebuild — backed by a $3m Victorian Government commitment, moving into detailed design with construction starting 2025/26. Bentleigh streetscape upgrades (landscaping, footpaths, street furniture) also in scope.
Bottom line
For homebuyers: a settled middle-ring family suburb with mature infrastructure and decent Frankston-line access. For investors: a low-yield, deep-market capital-preservation play — the unit segment, not houses, is where the recent growth sits.
Population
?30,159
Suburb · Census 2021
5-Year Growth
+6.3%
3yr: +6.0% · 10yr: +17.6%
SA2 · 5yr
Household Income
$2,215/wk
Suburb · Census 2021 median
Median Age
40
Suburb · Census 2021
Socio-Economic Index
?9/10
SA2 · least disadvantaged
Unemployment
?4.5%
SA2 · Q4 2025
Schools
5
4 primary, 1 secondary
Hospitals
?1
Within suburb
Childcare services
?20
10 long day, 6 OSHC
Parks & green space
?19
Parks, reserves
Transport stops
?89
GTFS stops
Dwelling approvals
No data for this suburb
Median House Sale Price
Source: Valuer-General Victoria (suburb-level quarterly medians).
→ Calculate stamp duty on this suburb's median price→ Estimate mortgage repayments
Safety & Crime
2025 Q4Reported incidents from VIC police. Offence rates may not reflect all crime.
Population over time — Bentleigh East - North (SA2)
ABS publishes annual estimates only at SA2; Bentleigh East suburb alone is ~30,159 (Census 2021).
Source: ABS ERP (latest release · 2025) · Census 2021. Numbers refreshed quarterly.
Growth at a Glance
Population grew from 12,594 to 17,873 over 24 years, averaging 1.5% per year.
Schools
6 in suburbSector
5 public · 1 private
Type
4 primary · 1 secondary · 1 special
Total enrolment
3,593
Avg per school
599
Government school catchment
Catchment data is not yet available for VIC.
Source when available: Victorian Department of Education / Vicmap School Zones.
Profile
Census snapshot
Housing
Public housing 0.6%Predominantly detached houses (69.3%), owner-occupied (74.2%), built for families (47% are 3 bed).
Dwelling mix
Tenure
VIC 29%
Number of bedrooms
Bushfire risk
This suburb falls outside every bushfire polygon mapped by the relevant authority. Always confirm at the property address — local conditions and unmapped overlays can still apply.
Overlap is the percentage of the suburb's land area inside the mapped bushfire polygons. Always verify the exact property address with the relevant authority before making decisions. Source when available: Vicmap Planning — Bushfire Prone Area + Vicmap flood overlays.
Flood risk
Source: VIC DTP Vicmap Planning Overlay (flood codes)
As of Apr 2026
Overlap is the percentage of the suburb's land area inside the mapped flood polygons. Always verify the exact property address with the relevant authority before making decisions.
Planning zones
13 zones in suburb| Code | Zone | % covered | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| NRZ1 | Neighbourhood Residential Zone Schedule 1Residential | 79.0% | 7.12 km² |
| GRZ1 | General Residential Zone Schedule 1Residential | 5.5% | 0.50 km² |
| TRZ2 | TRZ2Special use | 3.6% | 0.33 km² |
| PPRZ | Public Park and Recreation ZoneRecreation | 3.6% | 0.32 km² |
| CDZ2 | Comprehensive Development Zone Schedule 2Business | 2.7% | 0.25 km² |
| PUZ2 | Public Use Zone Schedule 2Special use | 1.8% | 0.16 km² |
| C1Z | Commercial 1 ZoneBusiness | 1.1% | 0.10 km² |
| PUZ3 | Public Use Zone Schedule 3Special use | 0.8% | 0.07 km² |
| HCTZ2 | HCTZ2Other | 0.5% | 0.05 km² |
| IN3Z | Industrial 3 ZoneIndustrial | 0.4% | 0.04 km² |
| PUZ1 | Public Use Zone Schedule 1Special use | 0.3% | 0.03 km² |
| PUZ6 | Public Use Zone Schedule 6Special use | 0.3% | 0.02 km² |
| C2Z | Commercial 2 ZoneBusiness | 0.2% | 0.02 km² |
Source: VIC DTP Vicmap Planning Zones (ZONE_VIC/2026-04-29/08783d2926383881) · As of Apr 2026. Zone boundaries are amended periodically; verify the exact property with the relevant council before relying on permitted use.