Altona Meadows vs Thomastown

The median house price is $775K in Altona Meadows and $780K in Thomastown, so Altona Meadows is the cheaper entry point, with Thomastown houses about 1% dearer.

For units, Altona Meadows sits at a median of $560K against $610K in Thomastown, which makes Altona Meadows the more affordable unit market and Thomastown the pricier one.

Gross rental yield on houses is effectively level, at 3.65% in Altona Meadows and 3.62% in Thomastown, so neither suburb has a cash flow edge on houses.

Over the past year house prices moved +5.4% in Altona Meadows and +5.1% in Thomastown, so recent momentum favours Altona Meadows, although both suburbs recorded growth.

Looking back three years, Altona Meadows houses are +11.6% and Thomastown houses +14.3%, so Thomastown has compounded faster than Altona Meadows over the longer window.

Rental vacancy is 1.1% in Thomastown and 1.5% in Altona Meadows, so landlords in Thomastown face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.

Thomastown is the bigger suburb, with a population of 20,234 against 18,479, larger than Altona Meadows; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.

In short: Altona Meadows for a lower purchase price, Altona Meadows for recent price momentum, Thomastown for the tighter rental market. Which matters more depends on whether the investor is buying for cash flow, capital growth or affordability.