Dandenong vs Garfield

Houses cost about the same in both suburbs: the median house price is $780K in Dandenong and $780K in Garfield.

For units, Dandenong sits at a median of $465K against $575K in Garfield, which makes Dandenong the more affordable unit market and Garfield the pricier one.

On cash flow, Garfield leads: houses there return a gross rental yield of 3.90%, compared with 3.80% in Dandenong, a gap of 0.10 percentage points.

Over the past year house prices moved +1.6% in Dandenong (an estimate) and +2.5% in Garfield, so recent momentum favours Garfield, although both suburbs recorded growth.

Rental vacancy is 1.1% in Garfield and 1.2% in Dandenong, so landlords in Garfield face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.

Dandenong is the bigger suburb, with a population of 30,127 against 2,114, roughly 14 times the size of Garfield; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.

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