Fernvale vs River Heads

Houses cost about the same in both suburbs: the median house price is $870K in Fernvale and $870K in River Heads.

On cash flow, River Heads leads: houses there return a gross rental yield of 4.10%, compared with 3.80% in Fernvale, a gap of 0.30 percentage points.

Over the past year house prices moved +16.6% in Fernvale and +18.2% in River Heads, so recent momentum favours River Heads, although both suburbs recorded growth.

Looking back three years, Fernvale houses are +58.9% and River Heads houses +43.2%, so Fernvale has compounded faster than River Heads over the longer window.

Rental vacancy is 0.4% in Fernvale and 3.0% in River Heads, so landlords in Fernvale face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.

Fernvale is the bigger suburb, with a population of 3,629 against 2,044, larger than River Heads; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.

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