McCracken vs Pennington
Property investment comparison - McCracken, SA 5211 vs Pennington, SA 5013
Head-to-head across core investment metrics: McCracken wins 2, Pennington 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 | McCracken | Pennington |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $850K | $875K |
| Median unit price | $375K | - |
| Gross rental yield (houses) | 3.77% | 3.52% |
| Gross rental yield (units) | 3.68% | 4.03% |
| 1-year house growth | +12.2%estimate | +14.3%estimate |
| 3-year house growth | - | - |
| Vacancy rate | 0.9% | 0.4% |
| Population | 2,076 | 3,773 |
McCracken vs Pennington: what the numbers say
The median house price is $850K in McCracken and $875K in Pennington, so McCracken is the cheaper entry point, with Pennington houses about 3% dearer.
On cash flow, McCracken leads: houses there return a gross rental yield of 3.77%, compared with 3.52% in Pennington, a gap of 0.25 percentage points.
Over the past year house prices moved +12.2% in McCracken (an estimate) and +14.3% in Pennington (an estimate), so recent momentum favours Pennington, although both suburbs recorded growth.
Rental vacancy is 0.4% in Pennington and 0.9% in McCracken, so landlords in Pennington face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.
Pennington is the bigger suburb, with a population of 3,773 against 2,076, larger than McCracken; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.
In short: McCracken for rental income, McCracken for a lower purchase price, Pennington for recent price momentum, Pennington 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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