Fairymead vs Redbank Plains

Houses cost about the same in both suburbs: the median house price is $850K in Fairymead and $850K in Redbank Plains.

For units, Fairymead sits at a median of $590K against $700K in Redbank Plains, which makes Fairymead the more affordable unit market and Redbank Plains the pricier one.

On cash flow, Fairymead leads: houses there return a gross rental yield of 4.05%, compared with 3.78% in Redbank Plains, a gap of 0.27 percentage points.

Over the past year house prices moved +12.4% in Fairymead and +19.7% in Redbank Plains, so recent momentum favours Redbank Plains, although both suburbs recorded growth.

Looking back three years, Fairymead houses are +34.6% and Redbank Plains houses +59.3%, so Redbank Plains has compounded faster than Fairymead over the longer window.

Rental vacancy is 1.1% in Fairymead and 1.4% in Redbank Plains, so landlords in Fairymead face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.

Redbank Plains is the bigger suburb, with a population of 24,349 against 28, roughly 870 times the size of Fairymead; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.

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