Kalaru vs Kew

Houses cost about the same in both suburbs: the median house price is $1.0M in Kalaru and $1.0M in Kew.

For units, Kalaru sits at a median of $590K against $710K in Kew, which makes Kalaru the more affordable unit market and Kew the pricier one.

On cash flow, Kew leads: houses there return a gross rental yield of 3.45%, compared with 3.11% in Kalaru, a gap of 0.34 percentage points.

Over the past year house prices moved +8.9% in Kalaru and +4.5% in Kew, so recent momentum favours Kalaru, although both suburbs recorded growth.

Looking back three years, Kalaru houses are +4.5% and Kew houses +3.8%, so Kalaru has compounded faster than Kew over the longer window.

Rental vacancy is 2.3% in Kew and 5.4% in Kalaru, so landlords in Kew face less competition for tenants.

Kew is the bigger suburb, with a population of 1,761 against 820, roughly 2.1 times the size of Kalaru; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.

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