Chatham vs Westdale

The median house price is $645K in Chatham and $640K in Westdale, so Westdale is the cheaper entry point, with Chatham houses about 1% dearer.

For units, Chatham sits at a median of $400K against $605K in Westdale, which makes Chatham the more affordable unit market and Westdale the pricier one.

Gross rental yield on houses is effectively level, at 4.52% in Chatham and 4.47% in Westdale, so neither suburb has a cash flow edge on houses.

Over the past year house prices moved -10.7% in Chatham (an estimate) and +15.2% in Westdale (an estimate), so recent momentum favours Westdale, while Chatham went backwards.

Rental vacancy is 1.3% in Chatham and 2.3% in Westdale, so landlords in Chatham face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.

Chatham is the bigger suburb, with a population of 36,841 against 2,963, roughly 12 times the size of Westdale; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.

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