Lake Heights vs Whalan
Property investment comparison - Lake Heights, NSW 2502 vs Whalan, NSW 2770
Head-to-head across core investment metrics: Lake Heights wins 2, Whalan 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 | Lake Heights | Whalan |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $925K | $930K |
| Median unit price | $790K | $465K |
| Gross rental yield (houses) | 3.84% | 3.02% |
| Gross rental yield (units) | - | 4.95% |
| 1-year house growth | +4.7% | +9.1% |
| 3-year house growth | +20.0% | +34.6% |
| Vacancy rate | 2.0% | 1.1% |
| Population | 4,105 | 5,929 |
Lake Heights vs Whalan: what the numbers say
The median house price is $925K in Lake Heights and $930K in Whalan, so Lake Heights is the cheaper entry point, with Whalan houses about 1% dearer.
For units, Lake Heights sits at a median of $790K against $465K in Whalan, which makes Whalan the more affordable unit market and Lake Heights the pricier one.
On cash flow, Lake Heights leads: houses there return a gross rental yield of 3.84%, compared with 3.02% in Whalan, a gap of 0.82 percentage points.
Over the past year house prices moved +4.7% in Lake Heights and +9.1% in Whalan, so recent momentum favours Whalan, although both suburbs recorded growth.
Looking back three years, Lake Heights houses are +20.0% and Whalan houses +34.6%, so Whalan has compounded faster than Lake Heights over the longer window.
Rental vacancy is 1.1% in Whalan and 2.0% in Lake Heights, so landlords in Whalan face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.
Whalan is the bigger suburb, with a population of 5,929 against 4,105, larger than Lake Heights; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.
In short: Lake Heights for rental income, Lake Heights for a lower purchase price, Whalan for recent price momentum, Whalan 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
Compare any 2-4 Australian suburbs
Build your own multi-suburb comparison with the full interactive tool.
Open interactive comparison