Cotton Tree vs Palm Cove
Property investment comparison - Cotton Tree, QLD 4558 vs Palm Cove, QLD 4879
Head-to-head across core investment metrics: Cotton Tree wins 1, Palm Cove wins 2. 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 | Cotton Tree | Palm Cove |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1.2M | $1.2M |
| Median unit price | $975K | $550K |
| Gross rental yield (houses) | 3.59% | 3.82% |
| Gross rental yield (units) | 4.16% | - |
| 1-year house growth | - | +14.6% |
| 3-year house growth | - | +20.1% |
| Vacancy rate | 0.8% | 1.0% |
| Population | 25,797 | 2,450 |
Cotton Tree vs Palm Cove: what the numbers say
Houses cost about the same in both suburbs: the median house price is $1.2M in Cotton Tree and $1.2M in Palm Cove.
For units, Cotton Tree sits at a median of $975K against $550K in Palm Cove, which makes Palm Cove the more affordable unit market and Cotton Tree the pricier one.
On cash flow, Palm Cove leads: houses there return a gross rental yield of 3.82%, compared with 3.59% in Cotton Tree, a gap of 0.23 percentage points.
Rental vacancy is 0.8% in Cotton Tree and 1.0% in Palm Cove, so landlords in Cotton Tree face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.
Cotton Tree is the bigger suburb, with a population of 25,797 against 2,450, roughly 11 times the size of Palm Cove; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.
In short: Palm Cove for rental income, Cotton Tree 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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