Highton

Lifestyle & dining

Highton's day-to-day life revolves around a handful of well-used local strips rather than one flashy precinct. Cafes and takeaway spots around the Barrabool Road and Roslyn Road areas do steady trade with school-run parents and retirees alike, and the suburb's proximity to Newtown and South Geelong means residents can easily duck into those areas for a wider spread of restaurants and bars without a long drive. It's a suburb built for a slower, more practical pace of life - weekend sport, backyard barbecues and short trips rather than a nightlife scene.

Shopping

Highton has a good spread of everyday shopping, including Highton Village and nearby retail strips that cover supermarkets, specialty stores and services. For bigger shopping trips, residents lean on the larger centres in neighbouring Belmont and the greater Geelong CBD, both a short drive away, giving Highton the benefit of local convenience with easy access to broader retail options when needed.

Getting around

Highton's location just west of central Geelong makes commuting straightforward, with Barrabool Road, Roslyn Road and High Street forming the main arteries connecting the suburb to Belmont, Newtown and the CBD. South Geelong station, on the suburb's doorstep via neighbouring South Geelong, provides rail access into Geelong station and onward connections towards Melbourne on the regional line. Bus routes link Highton to surrounding suburbs and the city centre, though most households rely on cars given the suburb's spread-out, hillier layout.

Schools & families

Families are well catered for, with Highton Primary School, Bellaire Primary School and Montpellier Primary School all serving the local area, alongside Christian College Geelong's Middle School campus in Highton for secondary-aged students. The presence of multiple primary schools within the suburb itself, rather than relying solely on neighbouring areas, is part of what makes Highton such a consistent draw for young families putting down roots.

Parks & recreation

The suburb's undulating terrain translates into some genuinely good green space, with reserves, sporting ovals and walking tracks scattered throughout, including areas that back onto bushland corridors towards Wandana Heights. It's the kind of suburb where a weekend walk, a junior football training session or a stroll around a local reserve is part of the routine, rather than something you need to drive for.

The property market

Highton's property market reflects its status as an established, in-demand suburb rather than a speculative one. The median house price sits at $820,000, having grown by 9.3% recently, while units and apartments offer a more accessible entry point at a median of $513,000. Median rent across the suburb is $530 a week, underlining solid ongoing demand from tenants as well as buyers.

Current listings show houses make up the bulk of the market at 64%, with apartments and units at 16%, townhouses at 9% and land at 10%. That mix suggests Highton remains predominantly a house-and-land suburb, with a smaller but genuine pipeline of medium-density options for buyers who want the location without the upkeep of a larger block.