As seen in Australian Property Investor Magazine
There are lot of decisions to make when investing, for example are you looking for capital growth, regular income from rent, or strong yields? While houses generally outperform units for capital growth, units usually provide a better yield.
Five years ago, the difference between the two was relatively small, just 0.4 percentage points. However, in the 12 months to March 2025, units recorded a rental yield of 6.2 per cent, compared to 4.5 per cent for houses.
Houses Year to March 2025 |
Units Year to March 2025 |
Houses Year to March 2024 |
Units Year to March 2024 |
Houses Year to March 2020 |
Units Year to March 2020 |
|
| Annual median sale price | $768,000 | $516,000 | $635,000 | $430,000 | $480,000 | $388,000 |
| Median rent price | $660 | $620 | $600 | $550 | $370 | $330 |
| Yield | 4.5% | 6.2% | 4.9% | 6.7% | 4.0% | 4.4% |
The term 'unit' is quite broad, and the unit market can be broken down into four categories: apartments, home units, townhouses and villas*.
This month, we've looked at which unit types are currently providing the strongest results for investors.
Captial growth
All unit types saw capital growth over the past year.
Villas recorded the most growth over the past 12 months, with the median sale price rising 25.6 per cent to $550,000. Home units were the next best performer, with median sale price growth of 22.1 per cent over the same period.
From March 2020 to now, villas recorded the most growth of any unit type, with the median sale price increasing 69.2 per cent. Home units were again the second top performer, with the median sale price rising 44.6 per cent. Long term, apartments recorded the lowest rate of price growth at just 14.1 per cent.
Median annual sale price
| Year to March 2025 | Year to March 2024 | Year to March 2020 | 1-year change | 5-year change | |
| Apartment | $581,750 | $520,000 | $510,000 | 11.9% | 14.1% |
| Home Unit | $470,000 | $385,000 | $325,000 | 22.1% | 44.6% |
| Townhouse | $700,000 | $605,000 | $515,000 | 15.7% | 35.9% |
| Villa | $550,000 | $438,000 | $325,000 | 25.6% | 69.2% |
| Unit market | $516,000 | $430,000 | $388,000 | 20.0% | 33.0% |
Rent price growth
All unit types saw an increase in their median weekly rent over the year. Home units and villas led the way, with median weekly rents rising 22.2 per cent to $550 and 18.2 per cent to $650 respectively.
Since 2020, median weekly rents for home units and villas have more than doubled.
Median weekly rent
| Year to March 2025 | Year to March 2024 | Year to March 2020 | 1-year change | 5-year change | |
| Apartment | $640 | $560 | $350 | 14.3% | 82.9% |
| Home unit | $550 | $450 | $270 | 22.2% | 103.7% |
| Townhouse | $720 | $650 | $400 | 10.8% | 80.0% |
| Villa | $650 | $550 | $320 | 18.2% | 103.1% |
| Unit market | $620 | $550 | $330 | 12.7% | 87.9% |
Days on market
While the median leasing time for units increased 14 to 15 days in the year to March 2025, it remained well below the 30 days recorded in 2020.
Villas and home units leased the fastest, with a median of 14 days each. Apartments and townhouses were only one day slower at 15 days.
Median time to lease (days)
| Year to March 2025 | Year to March 2024 | Year to March 2020 | 1-year change | 5-year change | |
| Apartment | 15 | 15 | 31 | 0 | -16 |
| Home unit | 14 | 14 | 30 | 0 | -16 |
| Townhouse | 15 | 15 | 29 | 0 | -14 |
| Villa | 14 | 13 | 28 | 1 | -14 |
| Unit market | 15 | 14 | 30 | 1 | -15 |
Rental yield
When it comes to rental yield, villas and home units delivered the highest results for investors in the year to March 2025 with yields of 6.1 per cent. Apartments followed closely behind at 5.7 per cent.
Apartments saw the most improvement in yields over the past five years, which is a reflection of their lower rate of capital growth.
Yield – Year to March 2025
| Apartment | Home unit | Townhouse | Villa | |
| Annual median sale price | $581,750 | $470,000 | $700,000 | $550,000 |
| Rent | $640 | $550 | $720 | $650 |
| Yield | 5.7% | 6.1% | 5.3% | 6.1% |
Yield – Year to March 2024
| Apartment | Home unit | Townhouse | Villa | |
Annual median sale price |
$520,000 | $385,000 | $605,000 | $438,000 |
| Rent | $560 | $450 | $650 | $550 |
| Yield | 5.6% | 6.1% | 5.6% | 6.5% |
Yield – Year to March 2020
| Apartment | Home unit | Townhouse | Villa | |
Annual median sale price |
$510,000 | $325,000 | $515,000 | $325,000 |
| Rent | $350 | $270 | $400 | $320 |
| Yield | 3.6% | 4.3% | 4.0% | 5.1% |
In summary, villas and home units stood out over the past year for investors, recording the highest growth for both sale and rent prices, as well as delivering the strongest yields.
This is general information only. When it comes to choosing an investment property, investors should do their own research and consider price growth, rental yield and overall rental demand for a particular property type and area, as well as their investment strategy. Conditions vary from suburb to suburb, so speaking a local REIWA agent about market activity can help you make a more informed decision.
Suzanne Brown
REIWA President
*Definitions
Apartment: Dwellings with no private grounds in a multi-storey complex and usually share a common entrance, foyer or stairwell. Apartment complex's generally have lifts and common amenities such as a pool, gym or garden.
Home unit: Single-level dwellings in a multi-residential setting where the complex is no more than two storeys.
Townhouse: Two/three-storey dwellings with their own private grounds. They are in a multi-residential setting and have no other dwelling above or below. They are either attached in some structural way to one or more dwellings or are separated from neighbouring dwellings by less than half a metre.
Villa: Single-level dwellings with their own private grounds. They are in a multi-residential complex and have no other dwellings above or below.
