Malvern East vs Surrey Hills
Property investment comparison - Malvern East, VIC 3145 vs Surrey Hills, VIC 3127
Head-to-head across core investment metrics: Malvern East wins 4, Surrey Hills wins 1. 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 | Malvern East | Surrey Hills |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $2.1M | $2.2M |
| Median unit price | $635K | $900K |
| Gross rental yield (houses) | - | 2.23% |
| Gross rental yield (units) | 4.86% | 3.94% |
| 1-year house growth | -6.7% | -6.5%estimate |
| 3-year house growth | -2.9% | - |
| Vacancy rate | 2.5% | 2.6% |
| Population | 22,296 | 13,655 |
Malvern East vs Surrey Hills: what the numbers say
The median house price is $2.1M in Malvern East and $2.2M in Surrey Hills, so Malvern East is the cheaper entry point, with Surrey Hills houses about 4% dearer.
For units, Malvern East sits at a median of $635K against $900K in Surrey Hills, which makes Malvern East the more affordable unit market and Surrey Hills the pricier one.
Over the past year house prices moved -6.7% in Malvern East and -6.5% in Surrey Hills (an estimate), so recent momentum favours Surrey Hills, while Malvern East went backwards.
Rental vacancy is 2.5% in Malvern East and 2.6% in Surrey Hills, so landlords in Malvern East face less competition for tenants.
Malvern East is the bigger suburb, with a population of 22,296 against 13,655, larger than Surrey Hills; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.
In short: Malvern East for a lower purchase price, Surrey Hills for recent price momentum, Malvern East 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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