Ferndale vs Thornlie

The median house price is $860K in Ferndale and $865K in Thornlie, so Ferndale is the cheaper entry point, with Thornlie houses about 1% dearer.

For units, Ferndale sits at a median of $680K against $555K in Thornlie, which makes Thornlie the more affordable unit market and Ferndale the pricier one.

Gross rental yield on houses is effectively level, at 4.30% in Ferndale and 4.34% in Thornlie, so neither suburb has a cash flow edge on houses.

Over the past year house prices moved +18.6% in Ferndale (an estimate) and +22.2% in Thornlie (an estimate), so recent momentum favours Thornlie, although both suburbs recorded growth.

Rental vacancy is 0.5% in Thornlie and 1.0% in Ferndale, so landlords in Thornlie face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.

Thornlie is the bigger suburb, with a population of 23,665 against 4,457, roughly 5 times the size of Ferndale; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.

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