Caves Beach vs West Hoxton

The median house price is $1.4M in Caves Beach and $1.4M in West Hoxton, so Caves Beach is the cheaper entry point.

Gross rental yield on houses is effectively level, at 3.23% in Caves Beach and 3.28% in West Hoxton, so neither suburb has a cash flow edge on houses.

Over the past year house prices moved +7.0% in Caves Beach and +8.3% in West Hoxton, so recent momentum favours West Hoxton, although both suburbs recorded growth.

Looking back three years, Caves Beach houses are +24.3% and West Hoxton houses +18.9%, so Caves Beach has compounded faster than West Hoxton over the longer window.

Rental vacancy is 1.9% in Caves Beach and 2.4% in West Hoxton, so landlords in Caves Beach face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.

West Hoxton is the bigger suburb, with a population of 10,152 against 4,016, roughly 2.5 times the size of Caves Beach; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.

In short: Caves Beach for a lower purchase price, West Hoxton for recent price momentum, Caves Beach for the tighter rental market. Which matters more depends on whether the investor is buying for cash flow, capital growth or affordability.