Cairns City vs Kilkivan
Property investment comparison - Cairns City, QLD 4870 vs Kilkivan, QLD 4600
Head-to-head across core investment metrics: Cairns City wins 4, Kilkivan wins 0. 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 | Cairns City | Kilkivan |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $590K | $590K |
| Median unit price | - | $355K |
| Gross rental yield (houses) | 4.80% | 2.29% |
| Gross rental yield (units) | 5.11% | 3.86% |
| 1-year house growth | +12.9%estimate | +7.2% |
| 3-year house growth | - | +30.4% |
| Vacancy rate | 0.6% | 4.4% |
| Population | 3,616 | 689 |
Cairns City vs Kilkivan: what the numbers say
Houses cost about the same in both suburbs: the median house price is $590K in Cairns City and $590K in Kilkivan.
On cash flow, Cairns City leads: houses there return a gross rental yield of 4.80%, compared with 2.29% in Kilkivan, a gap of 2.51 percentage points.
Over the past year house prices moved +12.9% in Cairns City (an estimate) and +7.2% in Kilkivan, so recent momentum favours Cairns City, although both suburbs recorded growth.
Rental vacancy is 0.6% in Cairns City and 4.4% in Kilkivan, so landlords in Cairns City face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.
Cairns City is the bigger suburb, with a population of 3,616 against 689, roughly 5 times the size of Kilkivan; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.
In short: Cairns City for rental income, Cairns City for recent price momentum, Cairns City 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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