Old Beach vs Shearwater

Houses cost about the same in both suburbs: the median house price is $730K in Old Beach and $730K in Shearwater.

For units, Old Beach sits at a median of $565K against $510K in Shearwater, which makes Shearwater the more affordable unit market and Old Beach the pricier one.

Over the past year house prices moved +2.1% in Old Beach and +9.6% in Shearwater, so recent momentum favours Shearwater, although both suburbs recorded growth.

Looking back three years, Old Beach houses are +1.4% and Shearwater houses +12.3%, so Shearwater has compounded faster than Old Beach over the longer window.

Rental vacancy is 1.9% in Shearwater and 3.5% in Old Beach, so landlords in Shearwater face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.

Old Beach is the bigger suburb, with a population of 4,394 against 2,051, roughly 2.1 times the size of Shearwater; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.

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