What shapes property value in Cheltenham: rail, Southland and zoning
Cheltenham does not have one property market. It spans two councils, has two stations on the Frankston line, sits beside Southland Shopping Centre and is getting a Suburban Rail Loop station. A house near Southland, a townhouse off Charman Road and a unit near the Bayside Business District can be valued on quite different evidence.
The useful question is which of these factors applies to your property, and whether each is finished, under construction or still a plan.
Rail works that are already finished
The Level Crossing Removal Project removed the Charman Road and Park Road crossings by lowering the rail line into a trench. It built a new Cheltenham Station and more than 3 kilometres of walking and cycling paths linking the Cheltenham and Mentone station precincts. The project page says the new Cheltenham and Mentone stations opened in 2020.
On the same line, the Victorian Government opened Southland Station on 26 November 2017, giving direct rail access to the shopping centre.
Both projects are complete. Sales since then already reflect them, so neither is a reason to expect a further uplift on its own.
The Suburban Rail Loop: plans approved, trains not yet running
On 16 July 2026 Big Build reported that final structure plans and planning scheme amendments had been approved for Cheltenham and the five other SRL East locations. The same report said works were underway at all six station sites, tunnelling would start in 2026 and trains would be taking passengers in 2035.
So the planning rules are in place, while the rail service remains about nine years away. A valuation at a 2026 date reflects what buyers were paying then, not the convenience of a train that does not yet run.
The Cheltenham Structure Plan covers land in both Bayside and Kingston, divided into five neighbourhoods: Southland, Highett, Nepean Highway East, Pennydale and the Bayside Business District. It concentrates the tallest, densest development around the SRL station, the Southland neighbourhood and the former Highett Gasworks site, and its height map shows a preferred maximum of 60 metres, or 17 to 18 storeys, in parts of the area. Big Build says the final plan reduced heights around the gasworks and strengthened overshadowing protection for parks including Pennydale Park.
The plan forecasts the area's population growing from 9,400 in 2021 to 20,800 by 2041, needing about 4,500 more dwellings.
What that means for an individual block
The structure plan area does not follow the suburb boundary, and its preferred building heights vary across the area. Being near the station does not by itself make a house a development site.
Where a larger lot falls in an area with higher preferred heights, a valuer will consider whether buyers of similar land have paid for its development potential. Lot size and shape, the neighbouring interfaces and setbacks, and sales of comparable sites all matter. At the edges of the plan, where the preferred height is up to four storeys as a transition to lower-scale streets, any difference may be small. The sales evidence, not the map, has to show it.
Other planning near the stations
Amendment GC264, published in the Government Gazette on 13 January 2026, rezoned four parcels of surplus government land to facilitate housing around Cheltenham and Mentone railway stations. It also corrected the Bayside and Kingston planning scheme boundaries so they line up with the municipal boundaries.
Kingston City Council's website still carries its own older draft Cheltenham Structure Plan for the Cheltenham Major Activity Centre, with a later review. It predates the SRL plan, so ask council how it applies before relying on it.
For your own address, generate a planning property report in VicPlan. It lists the zone and any overlays affecting the land. A planning map shows what controls apply. It does not establish a block's condition, its value or what a permit would allow.
What published sales say
Valuer-General Victoria's Guide to Property Values for 2025 lists a Cheltenham median house price of $1,358,000 for 2025, against $1,335,000 in 2024. The median unit price was $670,000 in 2025, down from $705,000. Cheltenham East and Cheltenham North are reported as separate localities, so check which row you are reading.
A median describes the middle sale, not your house. Land size, the zone and the building's condition move a single property well away from it in either direction.
For a value that accounts for these factors at a stated date, order a certified Cheltenham valuation. For an early, unsigned figure, the automated market assessment is a starting point. To discuss a block in the structure plan area, contact us.