Macleay Island vs Mareeba
Property investment comparison - Macleay Island, QLD 4184 vs Mareeba, QLD 4880
Head-to-head across core investment metrics: Macleay Island wins 2, Mareeba wins 3. 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 | Macleay Island | Mareeba |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $575K | $570K |
| Median unit price | $800K | - |
| Gross rental yield (houses) | 4.40% | 4.93% |
| Gross rental yield (units) | 3.02% | - |
| 1-year house growth | +13.9% | +12.1% |
| 3-year house growth | +42.5% | +41.8% |
| Vacancy rate | 1.2% | 1.2% |
| Population | 3,193 | 11,825 |
Macleay Island vs Mareeba: what the numbers say
The median house price is $575K in Macleay Island and $570K in Mareeba, so Mareeba is the cheaper entry point, with Macleay Island houses about 1% dearer.
On cash flow, Mareeba leads: houses there return a gross rental yield of 4.93%, compared with 4.40% in Macleay Island, a gap of 0.53 percentage points.
Over the past year house prices moved +13.9% in Macleay Island and +12.1% in Mareeba, so recent momentum favours Macleay Island, although both suburbs recorded growth.
Looking back three years, Macleay Island houses are +42.5% and Mareeba houses +41.8%, so Macleay Island has compounded faster than Mareeba over the longer window.
Rental vacancy is the same in both, at 1.2%.
Mareeba is the bigger suburb, with a population of 11,825 against 3,193, roughly 3.7 times the size of Macleay Island; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.
In short: Mareeba for rental income, Mareeba for a lower purchase price, Macleay Island for recent price momentum. Which matters more depends on whether the investor is buying for cash flow, capital growth or affordability.
Full profile
Macleay Island, QLD 4184
Open Macleay Island suburb profileRecent sales in Macleay Island
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