South Maclean vs Waterford

Houses cost about the same in both suburbs: the median house price is $920K in South Maclean and $920K in Waterford.

For units, South Maclean sits at a median of $800K against $650K in Waterford, which makes Waterford the more affordable unit market and South Maclean the pricier one.

On cash flow, Waterford leads: houses there return a gross rental yield of 3.80%, compared with 3.70% in South Maclean, a gap of 0.10 percentage points.

Over the past year house prices moved +11.2% in South Maclean (an estimate) and +20.0% in Waterford, so recent momentum favours Waterford, although both suburbs recorded growth.

Rental vacancy is 0.3% in Waterford and 5.0% in South Maclean, so landlords in Waterford face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.

Waterford is the bigger suburb, with a population of 5,796 against 2,232, roughly 2.6 times the size of South Maclean; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.

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