Newmarket vs Runaway Bay

The median house price is $1.7M in Newmarket and $1.6M in Runaway Bay, so Runaway Bay is the cheaper entry point, with Newmarket houses about 1% dearer.

For units, Newmarket sits at a median of $850K against $1.0M in Runaway Bay, which makes Newmarket the more affordable unit market and Runaway Bay the pricier one.

Over the past year house prices moved +10.5% in Newmarket and +16.3% in Runaway Bay, so recent momentum favours Runaway Bay, although both suburbs recorded growth.

Looking back three years, Newmarket houses are +29.5% and Runaway Bay houses +18.2%, so Newmarket has compounded faster than Runaway Bay over the longer window.

Rental vacancy is 1.2% in Newmarket and 1.9% in Runaway Bay, so landlords in Newmarket face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.

Runaway Bay is the bigger suburb, with a population of 9,308 against 5,083, larger than Newmarket; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.

In short: Runaway Bay for a lower purchase price, Runaway Bay for recent price momentum, Newmarket for the tighter rental market. Which matters more depends on whether the investor is buying for cash flow, capital growth or affordability.