Kiama Downs vs Russell Vale
Property investment comparison - Kiama Downs, NSW 2533 vs Russell Vale, NSW 2517
Head-to-head across core investment metrics: Kiama Downs wins 1, Russell Vale wins 4. The better choice depends on whether you're optimising for cash flow, growth, affordability, or liquidity, the table below highlights the winner on each metric.
| Metric | Kiama Downs | Russell Vale |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1.4M | $1.4M |
| Median unit price | - | - |
| Gross rental yield (houses) | 3.20% | 3.38% |
| Gross rental yield (units) | 4.35% | 4.10% |
| 1-year house growth | -2.2%estimate | +1.8%estimate |
| 3-year house growth | - | - |
| Vacancy rate | 2.8% | 0.6% |
| Population | 5,087 | 1,593 |
Kiama Downs vs Russell Vale: what the numbers say
The median house price is $1.4M in Kiama Downs and $1.4M in Russell Vale, so Russell Vale is the cheaper entry point.
On cash flow, Russell Vale leads: houses there return a gross rental yield of 3.38%, compared with 3.20% in Kiama Downs, a gap of 0.18 percentage points.
Over the past year house prices moved -2.2% in Kiama Downs (an estimate) and +1.8% in Russell Vale (an estimate), so recent momentum favours Russell Vale, while Kiama Downs went backwards.
Rental vacancy is 0.6% in Russell Vale and 2.8% in Kiama Downs, so landlords in Russell Vale face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.
Kiama Downs is the bigger suburb, with a population of 5,087 against 1,593, roughly 3.2 times the size of Russell Vale; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.
In short: Russell Vale for rental income, Russell Vale for a lower purchase price, Russell Vale for recent price momentum, Russell Vale for the tighter rental market. Which matters more depends on whether the investor is buying for cash flow, capital growth or affordability.
Keep exploring
- National investment guide - top suburbs across every metric
- Take the suburb finder quiz - 5 questions to match your goals
- How our investment score works
- Property investment glossary - every term defined
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