Emu Point vs North Lake

The median house price is $1.4M in Emu Point and $1.3M in North Lake, so North Lake is the cheaper entry point, with Emu Point houses about 1% dearer.

For units, Emu Point sits at a median of $435K against $635K in North Lake, which makes Emu Point the more affordable unit market and North Lake the pricier one.

Over the past year house prices moved +21.1% in both suburbs.

Looking back three years, Emu Point houses are +73.5% and North Lake houses +57.2%, so Emu Point has compounded faster than North Lake over the longer window.

Rental vacancy is 0.3% in North Lake and 0.4% in Emu Point, so landlords in North Lake face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.

North Lake is the bigger suburb, with a population of 1,299 against 285, roughly 4.6 times the size of Emu Point; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.

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