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Suburb profile ·Colac Otway LGA · VIC ·3233

Marengo VIC 3233

Marengo is in Colac Otway LGA, VIC, postcode 3233, with population 272.

The read

Livability-led

The page has enough signal to be useful, but the story is mixed rather than decisive. Use compare mode to pressure-test it against stronger nearby options, then use the calculator if it still makes the shortlist.

Why it fits

Higher SEIFA context supports a stronger local-quality read.

What to check

Small local population makes the signal set more fragile.

Median house
No local house series
Median rent
$450/wk
Rent context available
D10 vs AU
Gross yield
Need rent + price
Population
22,209
22K via Colac Otway LGA · SAL undercount
Schools
No matched school data
Drive to city
Not in commute dataset
Solar
595
28 added 12mo · 4MW

Price history

No price history available

Price series isn't recorded for this suburb. Census housing data is shown instead.

Median mortgage · mth$2,000
Median rent · wk$282

Rental vacancy rate

Rental vacancy rate · Regional Victoria
1.9%
Tight (landlord) market

Official vacancy is published at the Regional Victoria level, not per suburb. Shaded band marks a balanced market (2.5–3.5%).

Source: Homes Victoria Rental Report (DFFH) · Latest: Sep 2025
Investor profile

Who invests in Marengo

Owner-occupied 86%Rented 14%
Investor activityATO
Negatively geared4%
60 of 215 landlords
Avg rental loss$7,525/yr
Landlords (rental income)215
Reported capital gains163
Investor exposure index(moderate vs national)59.6/100
The read

Owner-occupier stronghold

84% of homes here are owner-occupied and 13% rented, with 4% of landlords negatively geared.

Why it fits

84% owner-occupied — owner-occupiers hold longer and absorb rate shocks, supporting price stability.

ABS Census 2021 tenure (G37), ATO postcode rental statistics, and QuickProperty's investor-exposure index. Owner-occupied = owned outright + with a mortgage.

Affordability

35%
median weekly rent as a share of gross household income (the 30% rule)
Stretched

Owners with a mortgage repay a median of $2,000/mo, while renters pay about $1,950/mo — owning runs $50/mo higher on these medians.

Household income · yr
$67K
Median rent · wk
$450
Owner mortgage · mo
$2,000

Household income

$67K household · yr-18.4% vs VIC suburb median
Personal
$37K
Family
$83K
Household
$67K
Household income distribution (ABS Census 2021 · weekly)
Under $300
7
$300-649
23
$650-999
20
$1,000-1,499
19
$1,500-1,999
10
$2,000-2,999
22
$3,000-3,999
7
$4,000+
3

At the median asking rent, about 62% of households here would spend more than 30% of income on rent (rent stress line: $1,500/wk income).

Housing stock and tenure

Tenure (122 households)
Owned outright
62%
Owned with mortgage
22%
Rented
13%
Dwelling structure56.5% of dwellings unoccupied on census night
Separate house
89%
Townhouse / semi
6%
Flat / apartment
0%

Getting to work: 70% drive, 0% public transport, 4% walk or cycle, 28% worked from home (2021 Census, taken during COVID-era work-from-home arrangements).

Crime Year ending Mar 2026
1,954
8,804 per 100k
D9 vs AU

Crime

Rate · per 100k8,804
Total incidents1,954· Year ending Mar 2026
  • Assault17150%
  • Sexual Offences7221%
  • Robbery21%
  • Break And Enter9829%

Bushfire-prone area

Designated ~100.0%
~100.0% of the suburb is within Victoria's designated Bushfire Prone Area

Share of the suburb within Victoria's gazetted Bushfire Prone Area (Vicmap, CC BY), point-sampled across the suburb. A Bushfire Prone Area is a planning designation that triggers the building code's bushfire construction provisions — it is not a graduated hazard rating or a property-level Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) assessment. Obtain a BAL assessment (AS 3959) for an individual property.

Flood exposure

Low exposure ~8.0%
~8.0% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood-hazard area

Estimated exposure to the official flood-hazard layer (VIC LSIO), point-sampled across the suburb. This shows how much of the suburb sits within mapped flood-planning areas — it is not a property-level flood certificate. Areas without a completed flood study may be unmapped. Check the local council's flood maps for an individual property.

Short-term rentals

80
active listings · ~294.1 per 1,000 residents
94%
entire homes (vs private rooms)
83%
run by multi-listing operators
Investment view Estimated
$331
median nightly (entire home)
17%
estimated occupancy
$21,002
estimated annual revenue (gross)

Estimated short-let income is 0.9× the $23,400/yr a long-term let would earn at the median rent — before management fees, cleaning, vacancy beyond the occupancy model, and short-stay regulation.

Active Airbnb listings point-mapped to this suburb from Inside Airbnb (CC BY 4.0). Occupancy and revenue are estimates from Inside Airbnb's San Francisco model (review-rate proxy, minimum-stay assumption, occupancy capped at 70%) — they are gross, indicative, and not a guarantee of returns. Short-stay letting is subject to state and local regulation.

Planning zones

Dominant zone Rural Conservation (RCZ)
Rural / Green wedge 36% Public / Open space 34% Residential 23% Other 7%
Residential density: Low

Land-use mix estimated by point-sampling the suburb against Vicmap Planning scheme-zone polygons (CC BY 4.0). This is a suburb-level snapshot of planning zones, not a parcel-level zoning certificate or development advice. Check the relevant planning scheme for an individual property.

Population outlook

3,972 people · 20223,929 by 2032 (-1.1%)

ABS population projection (2022 base) for the Otway SA2 statistical area — the finest official projection grain available; suburb-level projections do not exist.

Full data detail Census · ATO · ABS · state datasets
Marengo VIC — Property Data and Demographics

Marengo is a small, quiet locality in Victoria within the Colac Otway local government area (postcode 3233). The area has roughly 272 residents and a more retirement-aged population, with a median age of 59. Households earn a median income of $67K per year, with an average household size of 2.1 people. Recent annual estimates show population movement staying broadly stable across the broader catchment, with population growth running at +0.0% year-on-year at the LGA level. VIC employment has moved +0.9% year-on-year in the official ABS Labour Force trend series, which provides the broader jobs backdrop for this suburb. VIC also had 41 Commonwealth-backed major projects under construction, 18 underway, and 24 in planning as at 2025-09-01, which is useful as a broader delivery backdrop rather than a suburb-specific project count. The most common occupations are managers, labourers, professionals. Employment in the area leans toward accommodation & food and construction. The top ancestries reported are English, Australian, Scottish.

The current median weekly rent is $450. The median monthly mortgage repayment is $2,000.

Public transport access includes 2 bus stops. The crime rate in the Colac Otway LGA is higher than average at 8,804 incidents per 100,000 population.

From an investment perspective, Population growth of +0.0% year-on-year points to stable demand fundamentals. Building approvals have changed +0% year-on-year, indicating steady development activity.

Market & money
Investment signalsHeuristics
Pop. Growth+0.0%· Stable
Development+0%· Steady
InvestmentVIC
Mortgage · mth$2,000
Rent · wk(Census)$282
Market rent · wk(Sep 2025)$450
Population growth · Colac Otway LGAABS ERP
Population (2025)22,209
5-year growth-0.1% CAGR
YoY change+0%
20012025
Development · Colac Otway LGAABS Approvals
Approvals (2026)160
Houses 86%Units 14%
YoY change+0%
Employment · Colac Otway LGASALM
Unemployment (Dec-25)2%
YoY change+0.1pp
Dec-10Dec-25
Property investors · Postcode 3233ATO
Negatively geared4%
60 of filers
Avg rental loss$7,525/yr
Landlords (rental income)215
Reported capital gains163
People & prosperity
DemographicsCensus 21
Population272
Median age59
Household size2.1
HH income · wk$1,292
Personal income · wk$706
Persons / bedroom0.7
SEIFA indexABS
Advantage (IRSAD)8/10
Education (IEO)8/10
Economic (IER)6/10
Disadvantage (IRSD)7/10
Income momentumCensus 16→21
HH income · wk$979 → $1,292
Change+32%
vs VIC median+8.5 pp
Median rent-6%
gentrifyingvs VIC 2016–21
Area & amenity
TransportGTFS
Bus stops2
Hospitals · Colac Otway LGAAIHW
Public2
Private0
Colac Area Healthpublic
Otway Health & Community Services [Apollo Bay]public
Aged care · Colac Otway LGAGEN
Facilities6
Residential places274
Mercy Place Colac109 places
Corangamarah75 places
Calvary Barongarook Gardens60 places
Apollo Bay Multi-Purpose Service30 places
Otway HealthShort-Term Restorative Care (STRC)
Prompt Care STRC - Vic RuralShort-Term Restorative Care (STRC)
Childcare · Colac Otway LGAACECQA
Services22
Approved places828
Exceeding NQS3
Nido Early School Colac91 places
LITTLE TIKES EARLY LEARNING88 places
Millville Children's Centre85 places
Apex Preschool69 places
Apollo Bay Kindergarten66 places
Wydinia Kindergarten48 places
+16 more in Colac Otway LGA
Shortlist workspace

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Current status
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Sources & freshness
Strong evidence

Marengo has enough direct local evidence for a first-pass decision.

QuickProperty mixes release files, Census baselines, and matched local services on this page. Read the status panel before treating every metric as equally fresh.

PRICE POSTURE
Manual release files still matter here.

DataVic-discovered annual suburb price workbooks parsed into suburb prices. Quarterly VIC resources are discovered and cached, but not yet used as current-price anchors.

RENT POSTURE
Rent is using a state market dataset when available.

Use current rent as a starting signal, not as a fixed underwriting truth.

SERVICE POSTURE
Service coverage is matched locally, not inferred nationally.

Schools, transport, and hospitals are useful as presence signals, but they still have different source cadences.

Data status
Property prices
VIC Property Sales Report · DataVic-discovered annual suburb price workbooks parsed into suburb prices. Quarterly VIC resources are discovered and cached, but not yet used as current-price anchors.
medium stability · mixed acquisition · every update · quarterly
Missing
Market rent
Homes Victoria · Sep 2025 · State market dataset
medium stability · automated · every update · quarterly
Available
Crime
VIC Crime Statistics Agency · Year ending Mar 2026 · Area-level release dataset
Available
Schools
ACARA 2025 · No local school matches exposed
stable source · automated · every update · annual
Missing
Hospitals
AIHW · No linked local hospital coverage
medium stability · manual file · snapshot · mixed
Missing
Transport
GTFS feeds · 2 matched stops/stations
medium stability · manual file · snapshot · mixed
Available
Population growth
ABS ERP · 2025 · Annual estimate series
stable source · automated · every update · annual
Available
Building approvals
ABS Building Approvals · 2026 · Annual release series
stable source · automated · every update · monthly
Available
Available means a direct local dataset is linked. Verify means coverage exists but freshness or precision is weaker, such as ABS price fallback, Census rent fallback, or low-confidence hospital matching.

Marengo FAQ

Common questions
  1. What LGA is Marengo in?

    Marengo is in the Colac Otway Local Government Area, VIC, postcode 3233. Council-level context for Colac Otway LGA (suburb mix, population, rent, and price coverage) is available on the QuickProperty LGA page.

  2. What is the typical weekly rent in Marengo?

    The median weekly rent in Marengo is $450/wk, based on the current market rent dataset. The current rent signal is rent context available.

  3. What does the rent signal say about Marengo?

    Rent context available: Marengo has usable rent context. Use this as a suburb screening signal before comparing candidates or modelling a purchase; the matching rent ranking can provide broader market context.

  4. Is Marengo a good investment?

    QuickProperty's investment signals for Marengo show: Stable, Steady. These are computed from price, rent, income, and population data — not an opaque score.

  5. Where does QuickProperty get its data for Marengo?

    Property prices come from state Valuers General offices and ABS Data by Region. Demographics are from ABS Census 2021. School ICSEA scores are from ACARA. Crime statistics are from state police agencies. Transport data is sourced from GTFS feeds.

  6. How often is the Marengo data updated?

    Property prices update quarterly. RBA macro indicators update with each deploy. Demographics are from Census 2021. School ICSEA scores are from ACARA 2025.