Broadbeach Waters vs Clear Island Waters

The median house price is $2.6M in Broadbeach Waters and $2.4M in Clear Island Waters, so Clear Island Waters is the cheaper entry point, with Broadbeach Waters houses about 7% dearer.

For units, Broadbeach Waters sits at a median of $1.1M against $990K in Clear Island Waters, which makes Clear Island Waters the more affordable unit market and Broadbeach Waters the pricier one.

On cash flow, Clear Island Waters leads: houses there return a gross rental yield of 3.34%, compared with 3.00% in Broadbeach Waters, a gap of 0.34 percentage points.

Over the past year house prices moved +6.8% in Broadbeach Waters (an estimate) and +8.1% in Clear Island Waters (an estimate), so recent momentum favours Clear Island Waters, although both suburbs recorded growth.

Rental vacancy is 3.0% in Broadbeach Waters and 3.9% in Clear Island Waters, so landlords in Broadbeach Waters face less competition for tenants.

Broadbeach Waters is the bigger suburb, with a population of 8,164 against 4,395, larger than Clear Island Waters; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.

In short: Clear Island Waters for rental income, Clear Island Waters for a lower purchase price, Clear Island Waters for recent price momentum, Broadbeach Waters for the tighter rental market. Which matters more depends on whether the investor is buying for cash flow, capital growth or affordability.