Hamilton vs Wilston

The median house price is $2.1M in Hamilton and $2.0M in Wilston, so Wilston is the cheaper entry point, with Hamilton houses about 1% dearer.

For units, Hamilton sits at a median of $830K against $865K in Wilston, which makes Hamilton the more affordable unit market and Wilston the pricier one.

Over the past year house prices moved +6.0% in Hamilton and +9.3% in Wilston, so recent momentum favours Wilston, although both suburbs recorded growth.

Looking back three years, Hamilton houses are -2.6% and Wilston houses +8.7%, so Wilston has compounded faster than Hamilton over the longer window.

Rental vacancy is 0.9% in Wilston and 1.1% in Hamilton, so landlords in Wilston face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.

Hamilton is the bigger suburb, with a population of 8,922 against 4,110, roughly 2.2 times the size of Wilston; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.

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