Federal vs Skennars Head
Property investment comparison - Federal, NSW 2480 vs Skennars Head, NSW 2478
Head-to-head across core investment metrics: Federal wins 2, Skennars Head wins 3. 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 | Federal | Skennars Head |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1.8M | $1.8M |
| Median unit price | $455K | - |
| Gross rental yield (houses) | 3.28% | 3.45% |
| Gross rental yield (units) | 4.84% | 3.55% |
| 1-year house growth | +4.8%estimate | +6.7% |
| 3-year house growth | - | +16.1% |
| Vacancy rate | 1.6% | 1.9% |
| Population | 784 | 1,303 |
Federal vs Skennars Head: what the numbers say
The median house price is $1.8M in Federal and $1.8M in Skennars Head, so Skennars Head is the cheaper entry point, with Federal houses about 1% dearer.
On cash flow, Skennars Head leads: houses there return a gross rental yield of 3.45%, compared with 3.28% in Federal, a gap of 0.17 percentage points.
Over the past year house prices moved +4.8% in Federal (an estimate) and +6.7% in Skennars Head, so recent momentum favours Skennars Head, although both suburbs recorded growth.
Rental vacancy is 1.6% in Federal and 1.9% in Skennars Head, so landlords in Federal face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.
Skennars Head is the bigger suburb, with a population of 1,303 against 784, larger than Federal; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.
In short: Skennars Head for rental income, Skennars Head for a lower purchase price, Skennars Head for recent price momentum, Federal 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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