Hamlyn Terrace vs Macquarie Fields

Houses cost about the same in both suburbs: the median house price is $1.0M in Hamlyn Terrace and $1.0M in Macquarie Fields.

On cash flow, Hamlyn Terrace leads: houses there return a gross rental yield of 3.94%, compared with 3.19% in Macquarie Fields, a gap of 0.75 percentage points.

Over the past year house prices moved +9.3% in Hamlyn Terrace and +9.7% in Macquarie Fields, so recent momentum favours Macquarie Fields, although both suburbs recorded growth.

Looking back three years, Hamlyn Terrace houses are +15.6% and Macquarie Fields houses +23.5%, so Macquarie Fields has compounded faster than Hamlyn Terrace over the longer window.

Rental vacancy is 1.0% in Macquarie Fields and 1.4% in Hamlyn Terrace, so landlords in Macquarie Fields face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.

Macquarie Fields is the bigger suburb, with a population of 14,023 against 8,761, larger than Hamlyn Terrace; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.

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