Shell Cove vs St Johns Park
Property investment comparison - Shell Cove, NSW 2529 vs St Johns Park, NSW 2176
Head-to-head across core investment metrics: Shell Cove wins 2, St Johns Park 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 | Shell Cove | St Johns Park |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price | $1.5M | $1.5M |
| Median unit price | $1.1M | - |
| Gross rental yield (houses) | 3.12% | 2.61% |
| Gross rental yield (units) | 3.75% | 3.81% |
| 1-year house growth | +4.0% | +13.1%estimate |
| 3-year house growth | +18.0% | - |
| Vacancy rate | 2.7% | 1.8% |
| Population | 7,591 | 6,302 |
Shell Cove vs St Johns Park: what the numbers say
The median house price is $1.5M in Shell Cove and $1.5M in St Johns Park, so Shell Cove is the cheaper entry point, with St Johns Park houses about 1% dearer.
On cash flow, Shell Cove leads: houses there return a gross rental yield of 3.12%, compared with 2.61% in St Johns Park, a gap of 0.51 percentage points.
Over the past year house prices moved +4.0% in Shell Cove and +13.1% in St Johns Park (an estimate), so recent momentum favours St Johns Park, although both suburbs recorded growth.
Rental vacancy is 1.8% in St Johns Park and 2.7% in Shell Cove, so landlords in St Johns Park face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.
Shell Cove is the bigger suburb, with a population of 7,591 against 6,302, larger than St Johns Park; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.
In short: Shell Cove for rental income, Shell Cove for a lower purchase price, St Johns Park for recent price momentum, St Johns Park 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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