Hastings vs Sandy Point

The median house price is $730K in Hastings and $725K in Sandy Point, so Sandy Point is the cheaper entry point, with Hastings houses about 1% dearer.

For units, Hastings sits at a median of $590K against $500K in Sandy Point, which makes Sandy Point the more affordable unit market and Hastings the pricier one.

Over the past year house prices moved +5.7% in Hastings and -5.4% in Sandy Point (an estimate), so recent momentum favours Hastings, while Sandy Point went backwards.

Rental vacancy is 0.5% in Hastings and 11.1% in Sandy Point, so landlords in Hastings face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.

Hastings is the bigger suburb, with a population of 10,369 against 312, roughly 33 times the size of Sandy Point; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.

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