Surrey Hills

Lifestyle & dining

Surrey Hills' character is best experienced along its two historic shopping villages, Union Road and Canterbury Road, where period buildings house cafes, bakeries, delis and independent retailers rather than chain outlets. It's a suburb that favours a slower pace – a coffee at a local cafe, a browse through a bookshop, a wander past well-kept federation homes – over the buzz of a big-name strip.

The proximity to Balwyn and Canterbury means residents also have easy access to those suburbs' respective dining and retail scenes, while the general leafiness and quiet of the area appeals to those who want inner-city access without inner-city intensity.

Schools & families

Education is one of Surrey Hills' strongest drawcards. Surrey Hills Primary School and Chatham Primary School are both well-regarded local options, while Our Holy Redeemer School and Our Lady of Perpetual Succour School add further Catholic primary choices within the immediate area. The suburb's proximity to Mont Albert, Balwyn and Balwyn North also puts several respected secondary colleges within easy reach, a factor that consistently draws families to this pocket of the inner east.

Getting around

Surrey Hills is well served by the Belgrave and Lilydale railway lines, with Surrey Hills station providing a direct run into the city, making it a genuine option for commuters who want established housing without giving up train access. Tram and bus routes supplement the rail line, connecting residents to neighbouring Balwyn, Canterbury and Camberwell, while Union Road and Canterbury Road provide straightforward car access to the Eastern Freeway and surrounding arterial roads.

Housing & architecture

The housing stock here leans heavily toward traditional character homes – think Edwardian weatherboards, Victorian villas and interwar brick bungalows on generous blocks, many of them heritage-overlaid streets that give the suburb its distinctive, leafy streetscapes. Current listings show houses still dominate at 56% of the market, with apartments and units making up 33% and townhouses the remaining 12%, reflecting a suburb where established family homes remain the dominant drawcard, even as some higher-density housing has crept in around the fringes and shopping strips.

The property market

Surrey Hills sits firmly in premium inner-east territory, with a median house price of $2.12 million and a median unit or apartment price of $815,000, underlining the gap between its house-buyer market and those seeking a more affordable entry point. Median rents of $1,070 a week reflect strong ongoing demand from tenants for the suburb's location and school catchments.

Recent figures show house prices have eased slightly, down 2.5%, a modest pullback that's worth watching in the context of the broader inner-eastern market rather than a sign of falling demand for the suburb itself. With its scarcity of stock, character housing and school appeal, Surrey Hills tends to hold its value over the longer term even when short-term figures soften.