Branyan vs River Heads

Houses cost about the same in both suburbs: the median house price is $870K in Branyan and $870K in River Heads.

On cash flow, River Heads leads: houses there return a gross rental yield of 4.10%, compared with 3.92% in Branyan, a gap of 0.18 percentage points.

Over the past year house prices moved +13.1% in Branyan and +18.2% in River Heads, so recent momentum favours River Heads, although both suburbs recorded growth.

Looking back three years, Branyan houses are +65.1% and River Heads houses +43.2%, so Branyan has compounded faster than River Heads over the longer window.

Rental vacancy is 0.6% in Branyan and 3.0% in River Heads, so landlords in Branyan face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.

Branyan is the bigger suburb, with a population of 4,660 against 2,044, roughly 2.3 times the size of River Heads; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.

In short: River Heads for rental income, River Heads for recent price momentum, Branyan for the tighter rental market. Which matters more depends on whether the investor is buying for cash flow, capital growth or affordability.