Barrabool vs East Melbourne
Property investment comparison - Barrabool, VIC 3221 vs East Melbourne, VIC 3002
Head-to-head across core investment metrics: Barrabool wins 2, East Melbourne wins 2. 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 | Barrabool | East Melbourne |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $3.0M | $3.0M |
| Median unit price | $620K | $720K |
| Gross rental yield (houses) | - | 2.15% |
| Gross rental yield (units) | 3.59% | 4.20% |
| 1-year house growth | - | +1.6% |
| 3-year house growth | - | +1.3% |
| Vacancy rate | 2.8% | 1.1% |
| Population | 247 | 4,896 |
Barrabool vs East Melbourne: what the numbers say
The median house price is $3.0M in Barrabool and $3.0M in East Melbourne, so Barrabool is the cheaper entry point.
For units, Barrabool sits at a median of $620K against $720K in East Melbourne, which makes Barrabool the more affordable unit market and East Melbourne the pricier one.
Rental vacancy is 1.1% in East Melbourne and 2.8% in Barrabool, so landlords in East Melbourne face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.
East Melbourne is the bigger suburb, with a population of 4,896 against 247, roughly 20 times the size of Barrabool; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.
In short: Barrabool for a lower purchase price, East Melbourne for the tighter rental market. Which matters more depends on whether the investor is buying for cash flow, capital growth or affordability.
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East Melbourne, VIC 3002
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