Olinda, Sassafras and The Basin top the list of eastern Melbourne rent increases over the last two years

People looking to lease in parts of the Dandenong Ranges have to dig out an extra $200 a week compared to two years ago.

Matthew Sims
March 31, 2026

Rent in Olinda, a quiet town of 1,800 just 41 kilometres east of the Melbourne CBD, has risen 33 percent in the last two years. The figure means the suburb tops the list of eastern Melbourne locations with the highest growth in median weekly rent in that same period.

With a small size and quiet personality, it's just one of many areas in the east where rental prices are soaring.

📈 High risers: An analysis from the Eastern Melburnian has reviewed rental availabilities across a number of suburbs in the east, looking specifically at comparing March 2023 - February 2024 with March 2025-February 2026 .

Olinda, ahead of other areas like Ferntree Gully, Belgrave and Mount Evelyn, jumped 33.8 percent in that time – an increase of $207 a week ($613 to $820).

Fellow Hills village Sassafras came in second place, with Sassafras’ median lease price increasing from $600 to $783 – a 30.5 percent or $183 jump.

Nestled in the western foothills of the Dandenong Ranges, the quiet town of The Basin increased by 29.4 percent, or $142 – $483 to $625.

Moving into the Yarra Valley, north-eastern suburb Coldstream’s rental growth was fourth-highest at 27.8 percent – with renters spending $153 more than two years ago – or an increase from $550 to $703.

Considered as the gateway to the Yarra Valley, Lilydale rounded out the top five, with weekly rental prices up 24 percent – $120 extra or $500 to $620.

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🏡 Greener grass: Fletchers Yarra Ranges director Glenn Gardiner said the main driving factor of high rental price growth in towns like Olinda and Sassafras was a low number of overall houses on the market – with the number of rental properties on their list dropping by about 15 percent over the past two years, as well as a number of high-end properties going up for lease.

🗣️ “There’s never a shortage of people turning up at rental properties,” Gardiner told the Eastern Melburnian.

🥧 A larger slice of the pie: According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the average weekly wage for a Victorian in November 2025 was $2,013.70 – and that’s before taking about $467 in taxes out every week, leaving $1646.70 after tax.

For a person with an average wage wanting to start renting at the upper-end of the market in Olinda – at $820 a week – around 53 percent of their post-tax income would be spent on rent every week.

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Ringwood’s population is set to increase by more than a third over the next 20 years – but are buildings up to six storeys the answer?

🫰Statewide pinch: According to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing’s Rental Report for the July to September 2025 period, the median weekly rent was $580 in metro Melbourne and $470 for the July to September 2025 period.

Compared with the September 2023 quarter, rents in Melbourne had risen by 12.6 percent – from $515 during the July to September 2023 period.

Image Credit: Neil Howard