Hastings vs Strathdale

Houses cost about the same in both suburbs: the median house price is $730K in Hastings and $730K in Strathdale.

For units, Hastings sits at a median of $590K against $480K in Strathdale, which makes Strathdale the more affordable unit market and Hastings the pricier one.

On cash flow, Strathdale leads: houses there return a gross rental yield of 4.19%, compared with 4.13% in Hastings, a gap of 0.06 percentage points.

Over the past year house prices moved +5.7% in Hastings and +11.5% in Strathdale, so recent momentum favours Strathdale, although both suburbs recorded growth.

Looking back three years, Hastings houses are +2.2% and Strathdale houses +12.9%, so Strathdale has compounded faster than Hastings over the longer window.

Rental vacancy is 0.5% in Hastings and 1.0% in Strathdale, 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 5,756, larger than Strathdale; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.

In short: Strathdale for rental income, Strathdale 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.