Barkly vs Merbein
Property investment comparison - Barkly, VIC 3381 vs Merbein, VIC 3505
Head-to-head across core investment metrics: Barkly wins 1, Merbein wins 3. The better choice depends on whether you're optimising for cash flow, growth, affordability, or liquidity, the table below highlights the winner on each metric.
| Metric | Barkly | Merbein |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $425K | $435K |
| Median unit price | $585K | - |
| Gross rental yield (houses) | 4.38% | 5.10% |
| Gross rental yield (units) | 3.70% | 10.37% |
| 1-year house growth | - | +7.6%estimate |
| 3-year house growth | - | - |
| Vacancy rate | 6.2% | 1.8% |
| Population | 49 | 2,770 |
Barkly vs Merbein: what the numbers say
The median house price is $425K in Barkly and $435K in Merbein, so Barkly is the cheaper entry point, with Merbein houses about 2% dearer.
On cash flow, Merbein leads: houses there return a gross rental yield of 5.10%, compared with 4.38% in Barkly, a gap of 0.72 percentage points.
Rental vacancy is 1.8% in Merbein and 6.2% in Barkly, so landlords in Merbein face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.
Merbein is the bigger suburb, with a population of 2,770 against 49, roughly 57 times the size of Barkly; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.
In short: Merbein for rental income, Barkly for a lower purchase price, Merbein for the tighter rental market. Which matters more depends on whether the investor is buying for cash flow, capital growth or affordability.
Keep exploring
- National investment guide - top suburbs across every metric
- Take the suburb finder quiz - 5 questions to match your goals
- How our investment score works
- Property investment glossary - every term defined
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