South Melbourne vs Templestowe

The median house price is $1.6M in South Melbourne and $1.6M in Templestowe, so Templestowe is the cheaper entry point, with South Melbourne houses about 1% dearer.

For units, South Melbourne sits at a median of $600K against $970K in Templestowe, which makes South Melbourne the more affordable unit market and Templestowe the pricier one.

Over the past year house prices moved +0.4% in South Melbourne (an estimate) and -5.6% in Templestowe (an estimate), so recent momentum favours South Melbourne, while Templestowe went backwards.

Rental vacancy is 1.2% in South Melbourne and 2.3% in Templestowe, so landlords in South Melbourne face less competition for tenants. Anything under 2% is generally read as a tight market where tenants compete for homes.

Templestowe is the bigger suburb, with a population of 16,966 against 11,548, larger than South Melbourne; a larger suburb usually means a deeper pool of buyers and tenants.

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