Carlton’s market split two ways through the September quarter. Victorian terraces carried the top end, with seven of the ten highest sales, while the apartment market was steady to soft. Across standard stock — apartments and houses, excluding purpose-built student accommodation — the median sale price was $567,500, up from $553,500 in June. Rentals remain Carlton’s strength: listings leased in a median 15 days, down from 26 a year ago.
- Standard-stock median sale price of $567,500 in Q3 2026, up 2.5% on the June quarter.
- Terraces led the top end: a $2.725 million four-bedroom terrace on Macarthur Place and two Canning Street homes above $2 million.
- One-bedroom apartments traded at a median of $350,000 (a year ago: $320,000); two-bedroom apartments eased to $535,000.
- Two-bedroom asking rents are up 6.1% year on year to $700 per week.
| Metric | Carlton (3053) |
|---|---|
| Market Trend | Mixed — terraces strong, apartments steady |
| Buyer Demand | Moderate |
| Rental Demand | Very Strong |
Gross rental yields on standard Carlton apartments run from about 6.8% on two-bedroom stock up to approximately 7.6% on one-bedroom apartments — backed by year-round demand from the university precinct.
Top 10 sales, Q3 2026
| Address | Type | Price | Beds | Bath | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70–72 Macarthur Place | House | $2,725,000 | 4 | 3 | — |
| 160 Canning Street | House | $2,366,000 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 46 Grattan Street | House | $2,180,000 | 4 | 2 | — |
| 25 Canning Street | House | $2,000,000 | 5 | 2 | — |
| 306/85 Rathdowne Street | Unit | $1,780,000 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 34 Barkly Street | House | $1,720,000 | 4 | 2 | — |
| 101 Cardigan Street | House | $1,355,000 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 159 Palmerston Street | House | $1,200,000 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 3/105 Palmerston Street | Unit | $1,150,000 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 3/97 Elgin Street | Unit | $1,021,000 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Source: PriceFinder Sales Search, Carlton VIC 3053. Sales dated July–September 2026 with price disclosed, as reported at 2 October 2026; excludes sales without bed/bath data. Dashes indicate car-park data not captured for that title. For a full property report on any of these sales, contact Mark directly.
Market comment
Carlton’s heritage housing set the pace this quarter. The highest result was a $2.725 million four-bedroom terrace on Macarthur Place, near Carlton Gardens, followed by two Canning Street homes at $2.366 million and $2 million and a $2.18 million four-bedroom house on Grattan Street. Houses took seven of the top ten places. The apartment standout was a $1.78 million two-bedroom residence at 85 Rathdowne Street — well above the suburb’s typical two-bedroom price, and a reminder that apartments near the Gardens trade in a different market from the apartment towers along Swanston Street.
Market activity
Carlton’s apartment prices have been broadly stable. One-bedroom medians have held between $320,000 and $357,500 in every quarter since early 2025, finishing Q3 at $350,000 from a small sample of 11 sales. Two-bedroom apartments eased to $535,000 from $605,000, largely because three two-bedroom suites at Arrow on Swanston, a hotel at 488 Swanston Street, sold for between $240,000 and $335,000 — without them the two-bedroom median would be $567,500. Typical time-to-sell lengthened to 42 days from 30 in June.
Swanston Street was again the busiest address in the suburb, accounting for 27 of the quarter’s sales. Purpose-built student accommodation, where one-bedroom units typically trade for under $200,000, is excluded from every figure in this report so that it doesn’t distort Carlton’s medians or yields.
Carlton contains a large stock of purpose-built student accommodation that sells at a fraction of the price of standard apartments. Left in the figures, it drags medians down and inflates yields — a one-bedroom PBSA unit can show a double-digit gross yield on paper. We track these buildings separately so the numbers in this report reflect the apartments and homes most owners and investors actually hold.
Rental market
Carlton’s rental market tightened over the past year. The median listing leased in 15 days this quarter, against 26 days in Q3 2025. Two-bedroom asking rents rose from $660 to $700 per week, and three-bedroom rents from $893 to $1,075. One-bedroom rents eased to $513 from $540 in June, still above the $500 of a year ago.
Measured against current sale prices, that puts gross rental yields on standard stock at roughly 7.6% for one-bedroom apartments and 6.8% for two-bedroom apartments.
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Community — what’s on in October
Independent theatre, comedy and performance, with the festival’s home base at Trades Hall on Lygon Street.
More than 150 original objects from ancient Rome. Final weeks — the exhibition closes 25 October.
Friday-night AFLW at Ikon Park, Princes Park — first bounce 7:15pm.
Italian food, wine and culture at the Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton Gardens.
Dates as published by organisers at 2 October 2026 — check event websites before attending.
Figures are medians from PriceFinder sales and rental listing data for Carlton (postcode 3053), excluding purpose-built student accommodation, July–September 2026, with information cut off 2 October 2026. Gross yield = median weekly asking rent × 52 ÷ median sale price, same quarter and bedroom count. Dingle Partners operates six inner-city offices — for a free appraisal of your property, get in touch.