What can you rent in Melbourne for A$300, A$400 or A$500 a week?
Whole places: A$300 a week rarely gets one, A$400 gets a one-bedroom further out, and about A$500 is the middle price near campuses. The data is from October 2024 to September 2025, and asking rents are about a tenth higher now.
Key points
- 1A$300: whole places rarely fit
- 2A$400: a one-bedroom further out
- 3A$500: a one-bedroom near campus
- 4Two people, A$1,200: three bedrooms fit
- 5Asking rents are about 10% higher now
1The answer first: one table by weekly budget
Your budget sets the areas and the type of place you can choose.
| Weekly budget | A whole place is roughly | What people often do |
|---|---|---|
| A$300 | Rarely possible. The lowest median for a one-bedroom flat is A$325 (Broadmeadows-Roxburgh Park), a long way from the city | Look at a room in a share house, or areas further from campus. In Yeeliving listings, the middle half of share-house rooms is A$350–435 a week (whole-place rent ÷ bedrooms, an estimate) |
| A$400 | A one-bedroom further out: Sunshine 330, Springvale 370, Dandenong 375, Reservoir 400, Thornbury 400 | A one-bedroom in the outer suburbs, or a room in a share house in town. Example: Reservoir one-bedroom A$400; La Trobe's website lists a train to Reservoir station, then bus 301 or 561 to the Bundoora campus |
| A$500 | A one-bedroom near most campuses: Clayton 490, Carlton-Parkville 500, Caulfield 500, Hawthorn 450 | Rent a one-bedroom alone, or share a two-bedroom with a friend. Examples: Carlton-Parkville one-bedroom A$500, within walking distance of the University of Melbourne; Clayton one-bedroom A$490, and living by campus saves the fare |
| A$600 | A one-bedroom in the CBD (560–600), or a two-bedroom near campus (Clayton 590, Hawthorn 600) | A city one-bedroom (CBD 560, Southbank 570, Docklands 600), with RMIT City campus a walk or tram ride away; or two people splitting a two-bedroom, Clayton 590, about A$295 each |
2What these numbers are
Official medians: not quotes, and they leave out single rooms.
Leases that started between October 2024 and September 2025.
Median: half the leases cost less, half cost more.
Rooms and student housing are left out; for current prices see the next section.
3A year on: how much higher are rents now?
Yeeliving's listed whole places ask about a tenth more than these medians.
Around the city centre (CBD, Docklands, Southbank, West Melbourne), the 13 one-bedroom flats Yeeliving listed on 3 October 2026 asked A$450–750 a week, with a middle value of A$610. The official one-bedroom medians for those areas are A$525–600, so about 8% higher on average.
Two-bedroom flats are similar: 17 listed in the same areas, asking A$650–1,150 a week with a middle value of A$800, against official medians of A$660–763, about 11% higher on average.
These are asking rents, not what leases settled at, and Yeeliving's listings are mostly in the city centre with many furnished, so they are not like-for-like with Melbourne-wide medians. Treat them as a guide. Yeeliving has no whole places listed around Clayton or Hawthorn, so there is nothing to compare there. When you search using the table above, leave about a tenth of room in your budget.
4Near campuses: one, two and three bedrooms
The same budget goes a long way further out than near campus.
Area names follow the official report; one area can cover several suburbs.
For the Burwood area (Deakin), see the eight-campus guide.
| Statistical area (campus) | 1-bedroom flat | 2-bedroom flat | 3-bedroom flat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clayton (Monash Clayton) | 490 | 590 | 650 |
| Caulfield (Monash Caulfield) | 500 | 630 | 810 |
| Carlton-Parkville (University of Melbourne) | 500 | 670 | 855 |
| Hawthorn (Swinburne) | 450 | 600 | 850* |
| Bundoora-Greensborough-Hurstbridge (La Trobe) | 420 | 490 | 580 |
| CBD-St Kilda Rd (RMIT City) | 560 | 735 | 1,050 |
| Southbank | 570 | 720 | 1,010 |
| Docklands | 600 | 763 | 1,200 |
5A one-bedroom apartment in the CBD
The median one-bedroom flat in the CBD is about A$560 a week.
The official statistics call it a 1 bedroom flat.
CBD-St Kilda Rd: 1-bed 560, 2-bed 735, 3-bed 1,050.
About A$2,425 a month (560 × 4.33).
6Two people sharing with A$1,200 a week
A$1,200 combined: a two-bedroom fits, and so does a CBD three-bedroom.
Two-bedroom medians all sit at or below A$763 (Docklands).
Three-bedroom flats: CBD 1,050, Southbank 1,010, Docklands 1,200.
Two people in a CBD two-bedroom pay about A$368 each a week.
7After you find a fair price, check these next
Work out the upfront costs first, then book an inspection.
Before you move in, you pay a bond plus rent in advance: for a whole place at A$400 a week paid weekly, plan on about A$2,540; at A$500 a week, about A$3,170. The working is in how much for the first month.
Bills are on top: for a share house or whole rental, start with A$60–160 a month. For travel costs see what a month costs.
A low price and a push to transfer money: read rental scams first. Thinking about student accommodation: weekly prices.
What Yeeliving can do
Yeeliving is a Melbourne-based rental service company for international students (yeeliving.com). Our adviser service for student accommodation is free; for private rentals (whole places), the service fee is explained in writing by an adviser before the service starts.
Frequently asked questions
What can you rent in Melbourne for A$300 a week?
A whole place is rarely possible. In the official data, the lowest median for a one-bedroom flat is A$325 in Broadmeadows-Roxburgh Park, then A$330 in Sunshine, both a long way from the city. With a budget of A$300, most people look at a room in a share house. In Yeeliving listings (3 Oct 2026), the middle half of share-house room prices is A$350–435 a week, estimated as the weekly rent of the whole place divided by the number of bedrooms, not a quote for a room.
What can you rent in Melbourne for A$400 a week?
A$400 rents a one-bedroom flat in areas further out, for example Sunshine 330, Springvale 370, Dandenong 375, Reservoir 400 and Thornbury 400 (median weekly rent, A$). Near campuses the one-bedroom median is mostly 450 or more: Hawthorn 450, Clayton 490, Caulfield 500. A$400 can also rent a room in a share house in town.
What can you rent in Melbourne for A$500 a week?
About A$500 is the median for a whole one-bedroom flat near most campuses: Hawthorn 450, Bundoora area 420, Clayton 490, Carlton-Parkville 500 and Caulfield 500. In the CBD, Southbank and Docklands the one-bedroom medians are 560, 570 and 600, above A$500. Two people splitting the rent can also look at two-bedroom flats near campus for A$500 to A$600 each week (Clayton 590, Hawthorn 600).
What can two people sharing in Melbourne rent with A$1,200 a week?
If A$1,200 is for both people together, that is above the median two-bedroom flat in every area in the report (Docklands, at A$763, is the high end). It also covers a three-bedroom flat in the CBD (1,050) or Southbank (1,010); the Docklands three-bedroom median is A$1,200, right at the limit. In a CBD two-bedroom (median 735), each person pays about A$368 a week. Remember bills, internet and transport on top of rent.
How much is a one-bedroom apartment in the Melbourne CBD?
In the CBD-St Kilda Rd area, the median weekly rent for a 1 bedroom flat is A$560, about A$2,425 a month (weekly rent × 4.33). In the same data Southbank is A$570, Docklands is A$600 and North Melbourne-West Melbourne is A$525.
What is the overall rent level in Melbourne?
Homes Victoria Rental Report (September quarter 2025): the median weekly rent for all new lettings in metropolitan Melbourne was A$580, up A$10 on the previous quarter, and the rent index rose 3.5% over the year. This median leaves out student housing, rooms in dwellings and rooming houses.
Can I treat these figures as a rental provider's quote?
No. They are medians of new leases, and current asking rents are higher (see the section "A year on"). In Victoria a rental property must be advertised at a fixed amount, not a price range, and rental providers and agents cannot ask for or accept offers above the advertised rent (Consumer Affairs Victoria).
How much higher are whole-place rents now than these medians?
Among Yeeliving's whole places listed on 3 October 2026, one-bedroom flats around the city centre asked A$450–750 a week with a middle value of A$610, and two-bedroom flats A$650–1,150 with a middle value of A$800. That is 8% to 11% above the official medians, so about a tenth. These are asking rents, not settled rents, so treat them as a guide.
Sources (checked 1 Nov 2026)
- Homes Victoria: Rental Report (September quarter 2025)
- Homes Victoria: Moving annual rent by suburb (Excel, September quarter 2025)
- Consumer Affairs Victoria: Applying for a property
- Consumer Affairs Victoria: Rent calculator
This page compiles official public data. It is not legal advice and it is not a quote. Rents are Homes Victoria figures for the September quarter 2025 (medians of leases that started October 2024 to September 2025); when checked on 26 October 2026 that was still the quarter on the official page. The comparison in "A year on" uses Yeeliving listing data (3 Oct 2026), which are Yeeliving's own listings; the share-house room figures also come from Yeeliving listings and are estimates. Monthly amounts are weekly rent × 4.33.