Stop paying
Richmond’s wrong
manager.
Richmond landlords lose an average of $2,700+ a year without realising it. Not bad luck. Not a bad market. The wrong property manager.
What your current setup could be costing you
Richmond-calibratedSelf-managing isn't the only way to lose money on a rental. An agency that isn't reviewing your rent, marketing a vacancy properly or chasing arrears can cost just as much. This estimates the gap between your property's current performance and what Richmond's market conditions actually support.
Market benchmarks
Publicly sourced, refreshed monthly/quarterlyThe headline figures, pulled from the sources that publish them, not re-estimated. Every row carries its own source and as-of date rather than one blanket citation for the page.
| Metric | Richmond | Melbourne metro | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent, house | $780/wk | $620/wk | Domain Rental ReportQ2 2026 |
| Median rent, unit | $620/wk | $560/wk | Domain Rental ReportQ2 2026 |
| Vacancy rate | 1.8% | 1.4% | SQM ResearchJul 2026 |
| Median sale price, unit | $610,000 | $540,000 | REIV / DomainQ2 2026 |
| Gross rental yield, unit | 5.3% | 5.4% | AgentSelector calculation(rent × 52) ÷ price, from the two rows above |
Suburb outlook
AgentSelector indexOur Richmond Landlord Index is a plain-English score built only from the public figures cited on this page: SQM Research vacancy, Domain rent, and REIV/Domain sale price. It isn't a prediction, and it isn't the fuller version we'll publish once HTAG Analytics data (days on market, stock on market, market-cycle phase) is confirmed and cited — it's an honest first cut from what's genuinely public today.
Richmond Landlord Index
Richmond currently reads as a favourable market for landlords: vacancy is historically tight, unit rents are still growing faster than the metro average, and yields sit close to the Melbourne unit benchmark rather than well below it. The main drag on the score is price growth outpacing rent growth over the past year, which slowly erodes yield if it continues.
What's driving it
| Component | Score | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Vacancy tightnessSQM Research, Jul 2026 | 8.2 / 10 | 40% |
| Rent growth vs. metroDomain Rental Report, Jun qtr 2026 | 6.9 / 10 | 35% |
| Yield vs. metro benchmarkAgentSelector calc. from Domain & REIV | 6.0 / 10 | 25% |
Not yet in the index: days on market, stock on market and market-cycle phase. These move a landlord score materially and aren't published at suburb level, so we've left them out rather than estimate them. They'll be added, cited to HTAG Analytics, once that access is confirmed.
By bedroom count
| Type | Median rent | Gross yield |
|---|---|---|
| 1-bed unit | $530 pw | 5.6% |
| 2-bed unit | $620 pw | 5.1% |
| 3-bed house | insufficient data published | — |
Domain and REIV publish rent and price reliably for 1 and 2-bedroom units, Richmond's dominant stock. Three-bedroom-plus houses trade in low enough volume here that neither source publishes a suburb-level median we're willing to stand behind, so we've flagged it rather than estimate it.
By weekly rent band
| Band | Share of listings | Yield read |
|---|---|---|
| Under $550 | ~45% | Above suburb median |
| $550–$700 | ~40% | At suburb median |
| Over $700 | insufficient data published | — |
Listing-share bands are indicative, built from Domain's published rent distribution for Richmond units. The top band has too few current listings for a reliable yield read, so it's flagged rather than filled in.
What's happening in the Richmond market
Updated quarterlyRichmond vs. nearby suburbs
Comparison framing| Suburb | Median rent (unit) | Vacancy |
|---|---|---|
| Richmond | $620/wk | 1.8% |
| Cremorne | $640/wk | 1.6% |
| Abbotsford | $600/wk | 2.0% |
| East Melbourne | $700/wk | 1.5% |
| Melbourne metro average | $560/wk | 1.4% |
Frequently asked
FAQPage schema on publishWhat's the average property management fee in Richmond?
Property management fees in inner-Melbourne suburbs like Richmond typically sit in a defined range of the weekly rent, plus a separate letting fee charged when a new tenant is placed. Exact fees vary by agency and by the level of service included.
What's the current vacancy rate in Richmond?
1.8% as at July 2026, according to SQM Research's suburb-level vacancy data. Source: SQM Research
Is it worth self-managing a rental in Richmond right now?
With vacancy this tight, a well-run rental can perform well regardless of who's managing it. The bigger risk is execution, whether that's a self-managed listing that's slow to market or an agency that isn't reviewing rent or chasing issues. A below-market or slow-to-list vacancy costs more when the underlying market is this tight, because you're losing ground to faster-moving competition rather than just waiting out soft demand.
Methodology & sources
See what a property manager would actually change here
Answer a few questions about your Richmond property and we'll put you in touch with a property manager suited to it. No obligation.
Richmond has tightened over the past two quarters. Vacancy has drifted down from the low-2% range to 1.8%, according to SQM Research, a historically tight reading for the suburb even though it still sits a little above the Melbourne metro average of 1.4%. Median rent has kept climbing over the same period, running well ahead of the metro median for both houses and units.
A tight vacancy rate cuts two ways for landlords. It's a good backdrop to be renting in, but it also raises the cost of getting the basics wrong: a below-market or badly-presented listing doesn't just sit for longer than it should, it sits while faster-moving, well-priced competitors are actively absorbing the available tenant pool. We'll be able to say more precisely how much longer once suburb-level days-on-market data is part of this page.