Hamlyn Terrace vs St Andrews

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

On cash flow, Hamlyn Terrace leads: houses there return a gross rental yield of 3.94%, compared with 3.33% in St Andrews, a gap of 0.61 percentage points.

Over the past year house prices moved +9.3% in Hamlyn Terrace and +8.6% in St Andrews, so recent momentum favours Hamlyn Terrace, although both suburbs recorded growth.

Looking back three years, Hamlyn Terrace houses are +15.6% and St Andrews houses +23.7%, so St Andrews has compounded faster than Hamlyn Terrace over the longer window.

Rental vacancy is 1.4% in Hamlyn Terrace and 2.4% in St Andrews, so landlords in Hamlyn Terrace face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.

Hamlyn Terrace is the bigger suburb, with a population of 8,761 against 5,785, larger than St Andrews; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.

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