Forster vs South Nowra

Houses cost about the same in both suburbs: the median house price is $900K in Forster and $900K in South Nowra.

For units, Forster sits at a median of $650K against $700K in South Nowra, which makes Forster the more affordable unit market and South Nowra the pricier one.

On cash flow, Forster leads: houses there return a gross rental yield of 3.90%, compared with 3.70% in South Nowra, a gap of 0.20 percentage points.

Over the past year house prices moved +3.0% in Forster and +10.8% in South Nowra, so recent momentum favours South Nowra, although both suburbs recorded growth.

Looking back three years, Forster houses are +10.3% and South Nowra houses +18.6%, so South Nowra has compounded faster than Forster over the longer window.

Rental vacancy is 1.1% in Forster and 1.2% in South Nowra, so landlords in Forster face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.

Forster is the bigger suburb, with a population of 14,187 against 3,165, roughly 4.5 times the size of South Nowra; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.

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