Busby vs Emerald Beach
Property investment comparison - Busby, NSW 2168 vs Emerald Beach, NSW 2456
Head-to-head across core investment metrics: Busby wins 4, Emerald Beach wins 1. 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 | Busby | Emerald Beach |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1.0M | $1.0M |
| Median unit price | $770K | $705K |
| Gross rental yield (houses) | - | 3.50% |
| Gross rental yield (units) | 3.85% | - |
| 1-year house growth | +11.5% | -1.4% |
| 3-year house growth | +31.4% | +14.5% |
| Vacancy rate | 1.5% | 2.0% |
| Population | 4,446 | 2,677 |
Busby vs Emerald Beach: what the numbers say
The median house price is $1.0M in Busby and $1.0M in Emerald Beach, so Busby is the cheaper entry point.
For units, Busby sits at a median of $770K against $705K in Emerald Beach, which makes Emerald Beach the more affordable unit market and Busby the pricier one.
Over the past year house prices moved +11.5% in Busby and -1.4% in Emerald Beach, so recent momentum favours Busby, while Emerald Beach went backwards.
Looking back three years, Busby houses are +31.4% and Emerald Beach houses +14.5%, so Busby has compounded faster than Emerald Beach over the longer window.
Rental vacancy is 1.5% in Busby and 2.0% in Emerald Beach, so landlords in Busby face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.
Busby is the bigger suburb, with a population of 4,446 against 2,677, larger than Emerald Beach; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.
In short: Busby for a lower purchase price, Busby for recent price momentum, Busby 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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