Wendouree Property Report 2025 – Ballarat, VIC 3355

Suburb background — lake fringe and rail-side

Wendouree sits on Ballarat's north-western side, wrapping around the northern shore of Lake Wendouree and running out towards the Western Freeway. It is roughly 4–5 km from the Ballarat CBD and gives buyers a practical mix of lake access, shops and rail.

The suburb covers close to 9.6 square kilometres and holds around 4,000 dwellings, with parks and reserves taking up more than a tenth of the land area. In the 2021 Census just over half of homes were owner-occupied, down slightly from 2016, which reflects a slow increase in renters and investors over time.

Housing stock is varied. You will find older weatherboard and brick homes on generous blocks near the lake and station, 1960s and 70s brick veneer through the middle streets, townhouses built in the last couple of decades and small strata-unit complexes closer to the shopping strip. That range of property types is a big part of Wendouree's appeal to both first-home buyers and investors.

Location, connections and travel times

Ballarat CBD: usually around 8–12 minutes by car along Gillies Street or Howitt Street, depending on lights and which side of Wendouree you are leaving from.

Melbourne CBD: about 115 km via the Western Freeway. On a clear run, driving time is roughly 80–95 minutes. Many commuters instead park at Wendouree station or Ballarat station and use V/Line trains to Southern Cross.

Rail: Wendouree station sits on the Melbourne–Ballarat–Ararat line and handles local and express services. Being able to walk or drive a few minutes to the station is a key advantage compared with some of Ballarat's newer fringe estates.

Shopping and services: Stockland Wendouree is the main retail hub, backed by supermarkets, specialty stores, cafés and health services. The Lake Wendouree and Botanical Gardens precinct is on the suburb's southern edge and provides a large chunk of the recreation space locals actually use.

For a bigger picture of hospitals, transport and upcoming projects, see our Ballarat infrastructure, hospitals & transport guide, and for lifestyle context our things to do and places to go in Ballarat article.

Schools, TAFEs and zoning

Families in Wendouree are within range of a mix of government, Catholic and independent schools. Options include Wendouree Primary School, Our Lady Help of Christians, Ballarat Grammar just over the boundary at Lake Gardens, and secondary options in nearby suburbs and central Ballarat.

Because enrolment policies and zoning can move as schools fill, we always recommend checking the official Victorian Find my School tool and speaking directly with each school before you sign a contract. That way, your shortlist lines up with the intake areas you care about.

If you are relocating from Melbourne, our Best Schools in Ballarat 2025 guide gives a broader view across the city, including zones, fees, results and suburbs to watch.

Sales market — medians, ranges and activity

Across the last 12 months, Wendouree's recorded house sale median sits around $460,000, with most sales landing between roughly $415,000 at the lower quartile and $510,000 at the upper quartile. That range captures the bulk of standard three-bedroom homes.

On the unit side, the unit sale median is near $347,500, with quartiles around $283,000 and $389,000. Villas and low-maintenance units near the shops and lake tend to command stronger prices than older walk-up blocks.

Around 160 unique house sales and a smaller pool of unit sales were recorded over the year, with a couple of dozen listings on the market at any one time. The suburb-wide median dwelling value is estimated in the low-to-mid $480,000s, with typical units in the high $370,000s.

Rentals, yields and tenant demand

Wendouree has long been a go-to suburb for tenants who want practical access to the lake, Stockland, the hospital precinct and either Wendouree or Ballarat station. Advertised house rents tend to cluster from the mid $300s to high $400s per week depending on condition, bedrooms and distance to amenities.

Smaller attached stock creates a cheaper doorway. Many one- and two-bedroom units fall in the mid $200s to mid $300s range, with tidy single-level villas and townhouses at the upper end. That mix generally translates to gross yields in the mid-3% range for houses and somewhere in the 4–5% range for units, subject to the specific property and current leasing market.

Vacancy rates across Ballarat's established suburbs have been relatively tight, so it is common for well-presented homes in Wendouree to lease quickly when priced sensibly. From a lending point of view, we always look at how each bank shades rental income and treats your existing debts before you commit to a contract.

Finance, deposits and when to refinance instead

At a $500,000 Wendouree purchase price, a 10% deposit is $50,000. By the time you add VIC stamp duty, conveyancing and a basic buffer, many buyers we see are working with somewhere between $70,000 and $110,000 in total savings or equity for a comfortable structure. Smaller deposits are possible, especially for first-home buyers using schemes or guarantors, but lender choice and LMI pricing matter more in that bracket.

Owner-occupiers often face a trade-off: push for an 80% LVR and avoid lender's mortgage insurance altogether, accept a slightly higher LVR and LMI to keep more cash in reserve, or structure a split loan with an offset to balance flexibility and discipline. Our Rate Review calculator and Home Loan Guide help you stress-test those options before you fall in love with a listing.

If you already own in Ballarat, it can sometimes make more sense to refinance rather than move. The Refinance Ballarat page steps through that decision, and for buyers who want to keep renting in Melbourne while buying in Ballarat, our Rentvesting Ballarat guide shows how the numbers can work.

Nearby suburbs to compare

Most Wendouree buyers are also looking at neighbouring suburbs such as Alfredton, Lake Gardens and Ballarat North, plus newer estates further west. Each pocket shifts the balance between price, block size, commute and school access.

For a direct suburb-to-suburb comparison, line this report up with our Alfredton, Ballarat Property Report 2025 and city-wide view in Undervalued Suburbs in Ballarat 2025. When we run a Wendouree rate challenge, we usually test your budget across these nearby areas as well so you can see how repayments, rent and future borrowing capacity all behave.