Apple Tree Creek vs Cairns North

Houses cost about the same in both suburbs: the median house price is $660K in Apple Tree Creek and $660K in Cairns North.

For units, Apple Tree Creek sits at a median of $215K against $450K in Cairns North, which makes Apple Tree Creek the more affordable unit market and Cairns North the pricier one.

On cash flow, Cairns North leads: houses there return a gross rental yield of 4.70%, compared with 4.12% in Apple Tree Creek, a gap of 0.58 percentage points.

Over the past year house prices moved +17.9% in Apple Tree Creek and +13.7% in Cairns North (an estimate), so recent momentum favours Apple Tree Creek, although both suburbs recorded growth.

Rental vacancy is 0.5% in Cairns North and 4.2% in Apple Tree Creek, so landlords in Cairns North face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.

Cairns North is the bigger suburb, with a population of 5,334 against 726, roughly 7 times the size of Apple Tree Creek; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.

In short: Cairns North for rental income, Apple Tree Creek for recent price momentum, Cairns North for the tighter rental market. Which matters more depends on whether the investor is buying for cash flow, capital growth or affordability.