Williamstown (postcode 3016) sits on a peninsula in Melbourne's inner west, approximately 11 kilometres south-west of the CBD, within the City of Hobsons Bay. Its SEIFA IRSAD score of 1101 places it in the national top decile (decile 10 of 10) and at the 92nd percentile within Victoria, meaning it ranks among the most socioeconomically advantaged communities in the country. That reading reflects a resident base that skews strongly toward professional occupations, high household incomes, and owner-occupation. For investors, it is a useful macro signal, but it is the starting point of analysis, not the conclusion.
ABS 2021 IRSAD release. Score 1101 (national mean = 1000).
A SEIFA IRSAD score of 1101 sits 101 points above the national mean of 1000. In PropertyRanker's model, this reading feeds directly into three of the twelve scoring criteria: economic_strength, hazard_risk, and entry_point_risk. On economic_strength, a decile-10 suburb signals a resilient local income base, low unemployment exposure, and a tenant or buyer pool with above-average financial capacity. On hazard_risk, higher-SEIFA areas correlate with better-maintained infrastructure and lower exposure to socioeconomic stress events, though the model notes that Williamstown's coastal and bayside position means flood and storm-surge overlays must still be checked at the individual lot level. On entry_point_risk, the same prestige premium that drives the SEIFA score also compresses gross yields; investors targeting the Capital Growth strategy (anchored around 3.5 percent gross yield) are most likely to find alignment here, while High Yield and Regional strategies (anchored at 6 to 7 percent) will face structural headwinds at typical Williamstown price points.
The suburb's housing stock is genuinely diverse, ranging from heritage Victorian cottages and waterfront residences through to contemporary townhouses and apartments, which means individual listings within the same postcode can vary considerably in yield profile, body corporate exposure, and heritage overlay constraints. The high owner-occupation rate (above 73 percent at the 2021 census) also means the rental pool is proportionally smaller, a factor that can tighten vacancy in some segments while limiting rental growth in others. None of that is visible in the SEIFA number alone, which is why PropertyRanker treats it as a macro-layer input rather than a property-level verdict.
According to CoreLogic data published by yourinvestmentpropertymag.com.au (as of April 2026), Williamstown VIC 3016 recorded a median house price of $1,600,000, representing 4.23% annual capital growth, with 203 house sales over the prior 12 months and houses averaging 52 days on market. Woodards data corroborates a median of $1,566,940 (up 4.5%) with sales volume up 17.8% year-on-year and days on market down 5.8%, while SQM Research figures cited by collings.com.au place the residential vacancy rate at approximately 1.1% as of mid-2026, signalling a tight rental market. No average vendor discount figure was published in the sources retrieved.
Anchor points pulled per refresh from publicly available suburb profiles. Approximate; not a moving average.
Vacancy rate is tight at ~1.1% (SQM Research, mid-2026) and days on market for houses fell 5.8% year-on-year (Woodards), with vendor discount direction unavailable; two of the three signals point to a tightening market, placing the suburb in the 'warming' band.
Sources: Williamstown VIC 3016 Suburb Profile & Property Report (2026-08-02); Williamstown VIC Property Market & House Prices (2026-08-01); Williamstown VIC 3016 List Sold Price (April 2021) (2021-04-01); Williamstown VIC 3016 List Sold Price (April 2023) (2023-04-01); Rental Yield in Williamstown VIC 2026 (2026-07-01) · Refreshed 6 Sep 2026
PropertyRanker scores any Australian property against 12 criteria across three pillars: Growth, Cashflow, and Risk. SEIFA is a primary signal for economic strength and a supporting one for entry-price risk. It also informs the crime side of hazard risk, though physical overlays like flood, bushfire and coastal exposure, and recorded crime data where available, take priority there. The decile of 10 shown above gives a listing in Williamstown a stronger starting line on economic strength than the national median postcode, and a softer one on entry-price risk, since more advantaged postcodes usually carry higher entry prices.
On top of that, PropertyRanker chooses one of four strategies (Balanced, Growth, Yield, Regional) and applies a per-strategy yield anchor. The anchors are 3.5% for Growth, 5% for Balanced, 6% for Yield, and 7% for Regional. A postcode at this level of relative advantage tends to suit the Growth (3.5% anchor) and Balanced (5% anchor) strategies more readily than Yield (6%) or Regional (7%), because a higher entry price compresses the gross yield a listing can reach without a specific value-add.
Read the scoring guide for the full criteria list and how the verdict thresholds work.
Before drawing any investment conclusion from Williamstown's top-decile SEIFA reading, an investor should confirm several things at the listing level. First, check the current SQM vacancy rate for postcode 3016; a prestige suburb with a small rental pool can swing between tight and soft vacancy faster than a higher-density market. Second, for any strata or apartment title, obtain the body corporate financials and confirm the sinking fund is adequately provisioned; heritage-adjacent buildings in particular can carry deferred maintenance. Third, run a flood and coastal overlay check through the Hobsons Bay planning portal, because proximity to Port Phillip Bay and the Yarra mouth means some lots carry inundation or storm-surge risk that a suburb-level SEIFA score cannot reflect. Fourth, price the listing against recent comparable sales in the same street or building rather than suburb-wide medians, which can be skewed by the wide range of stock types. Score the specific listing in PropertyRanker to get a verdict that accounts for all of these factors alongside the SEIFA macro signal.
Williamstown's SEIFA IRSAD score of 1101 (national decile 10) signals a strong economic base, which supports PropertyRanker's economic_strength and hazard_risk criteria positively. However, a strong SEIFA reading does not make any specific listing a sound investment; yield compression, heritage overlays, and a relatively small rental pool are real constraints that vary by property. The data suggests the suburb suits investors whose strategy tolerates lower gross yields in exchange for a high-quality demand base, but each listing needs to be scored individually.
Williamstown's top-decile socioeconomic profile and prestige positioning align most naturally with the Capital Growth strategy, which is anchored around a 3.5 percent gross yield. Investors running a Balanced strategy (around 5 percent) may find selective opportunities, particularly in the apartment and townhouse segment, but should verify current vacancy and comparable rents before assuming yield targets are achievable. High Yield and Regional strategies, anchored at 6 to 7 percent, are structurally difficult to reconcile with typical Williamstown entry prices; score the specific listing in PropertyRanker to confirm whether a given property clears the relevant yield threshold.
Three risks stand out at the postcode level. First, yield compression: the same prestige premium reflected in the SEIFA score of 1101 tends to push purchase prices well above the level needed to achieve high gross yields. Second, coastal and flood exposure: Williamstown's peninsula location means individual lots may carry inundation or storm-surge overlays that are invisible in suburb-level data and must be checked through the Hobsons Bay planning portal. Third, strata and heritage constraints: the suburb's diverse stock includes heritage-listed and older strata buildings where body corporate levies and deferred maintenance can erode net returns significantly.
PropertyRanker uses the SEIFA IRSAD reading as a macro-layer input across three of its twelve scoring criteria: economic_strength, hazard_risk, and entry_point_risk. Williamstown's score of 1101 (decile 10, 92nd percentile in Victoria) contributes positively to all three criteria at the suburb level. The remaining nine criteria operate at the listing level and capture things the postcode-level SEIFA score cannot see, including current SQM vacancy, body corporate health, flood and overlay status, and pricing against recent comparable sales. A full score requires running the specific listing through PropertyRanker.
All three suburbs sit within the City of Hobsons Bay LGA and share broadly similar infrastructure and transport access, but they occupy different positions on the price and yield spectrum. Williamstown's top-decile SEIFA reading reflects a higher-income, higher-owner-occupation profile that typically means stronger capital demand but lower rental yields. Newport (3015) and Altona (3018) generally offer lower entry points within the same LGA, which may suit investors targeting higher yield strategies, though their SEIFA profiles differ and should be checked separately. Investors comparing these suburbs should score individual listings in PropertyRanker rather than relying on suburb-level comparisons alone.
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