Welcome to the City of Boroondara Population Forecasts

The City of Boroondara is located in the established inner eastern suburbs of Melbourne. The municipality is predominantly residential, although there are significant commercial centres at Camberwell, Hawthorn (Glenferrie) and Kew. Urban development in the City dates back to the nineteenth century, with development initially occurring in the Hawthorn and Kew areas, as well as around Camberwell. These areas were relatively accessible to the Central Melbourne due to railway and tram links. Initial residential development along the rail corridors quickly spread across the City generally from west to east, a process that continued to the end of the Second World War by which time much of the City was established. The primary housing market role that the City of Boroondara played during this period was to provide home owning opportunities for families and prospective families from the inner and inner eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

The City matured significantly over the next fifty years and by the 1970s and 1980s, the City was beginning to regenerate due to mortality in the original settlers. This provided opportunities for mature families to move in and take advantage of the access to quality schools in the area. During the 1990s, new development opportunities were taken, with the conversion of school sites, part of the Kew Residential Services and surplus government and utility land to residential purposes, which further facilitated this process. The development and expansion of Swinburne University of Technology over the last twenty years has also facilitated significant change in the character of the population, notably around Hawthorn and Hawthorn East, with the in-migration of a more youthful and transient population. There is significant pressure for residential expansion within Boroondara from both existing residents and from external migrants, most notably from overseas, interstate and regional Victorian sources. However, the retirement of population as well as affordability issues have resulted in the loss of people to the Mornington Peninsula and the middle eastern suburbs respectively. It is assumed that a number of these patterns will continue into the future, notably the large overseas flows into the City.

With the residential development of the City over a century and the large size of the municipality, areas have developed different roles within the housing market. These roles generally fall under two categories: 1. Young adults and tertiary students and; 2. Established and mature families. The first pattern tends to affect areas in the west of the municipality, especially Hawthorn and Hawthorn East due to the proximity of Swinburne University and access to other tertiary education facilities in the inner City. The second pattern is noteworthy on the eastern side of the City, such as Surrey Hills, Glen Iris, Ashburton, Canterbury, Balwyn, Deepdene and Balwyn North, where the housing stock, the amenity and attractiveness of the areas drive local migration patterns. Kew, Kew East and Camberwell tend to combine elements of both migration patterns. This difference in function and role of the small areas in the City of Boroondara means that population outcomes differ significantly across the municipality.

There are also significant differences in the supply of residential property within the City which will also have a major influence in structuring different population and household futures over the next five to twenty years. The major source of additional dwellings and households in the City will be in the larger redevelopment sites and through infill and medium density development in existing residential areas.