Market Intel · 21 September 2026 · 4 min read
Morley vs Port Macquarie vs Boronia: One Scores 75/100
Morley, Port Macquarie and Boronia show how yield and seller behaviour changed the score. One suburb ran hard, one held income, and one was repriced into a win.
▶ Watch the full video on YouTube: Morley vs Port Macquarie vs Boronia: One Scores 75/100
Three suburbs. One price band. Three very different outcomes.
In this episode of the Ripehouse Advisory scoreboard, the real story is not just price movement — it is how the yield and the seller’s behaviour changed the score. Morley, Port Macquarie and Boronia show why the same price band can hide completely different opportunities for buyers.
The scorecard: price direction beats price level
All three suburbs sit inside one price band, so the absolute price level does not explain the result. The key variable is direction.
- Morley scored 37/100
- Port Macquarie scored 74/100
- Boronia scored 75/100
The gap between first and second was 47.6 raw points, the second closest finish in the show’s history. And the number 37 appeared twice for a reason: once as a failing grade, and once as free money.
Morley: the suburb that ran, then got graded down
Morley, Western Australia, postcode 6062, sits in the City of Bayswater. It had 58 platform followers and was the first suburb from that council ever rated.
Its sold median ran from $780,000 to $1,090,000 in 23 months, a rise of 39.7%. It is still sitting at its peak.
The problem is not demand. The problem is the entry price.
- Rent: $775 per week, up 14%
- Gross yield: 3.70%, down from 4.53%
- Vacancy: 0.8%
- Asking median: $949,000, just 3.7% off its peak
- Days on market: 13
- Sales in 12 months: 250
Bayswater’s growth profile is real: population growth at the 81st percentile, up 8.57% in five years, with approvals at 9.56 per 1,000 existing homes. But Morley’s issue is simple — buyers have already paid for the run. A rent rise of 14% and a yield drop of 83 basis points tells you the price took the return.
That is why Morley scored 37.
Port Macquarie: the market where sellers blinked
Port Macquarie, New South Wales, postcode 2444, had 54 platform followers and a census-verified population of 50,718.
This was the market where the asking side moved first.
- Asking median peaked at $1.195 million in March
- It is now $1 million flat
- Sellers cut 16.3%, or $195,000
- Sold median sits at $915,000
The suburb’s fundamentals still make sense:
- Population growth at the 79th percentile, up 8.11% in five years
- Supply pipeline at the 32nd percentile
- Approvals: 15.02 per 1,000 existing homes
- Health care and social assistance makes up 18.2% of employment
On the housing side:
- Gross yield: 3.98% — the highest on the card
- Vacancy: 1.8%
- Days on market: 13
- Sales in 12 months: 401
- Owner occupied: 54%
- Investor: 23%
- Public housing: 3.50% — the highest share on the card
Port Macquarie’s edge is that the yield simply held while sellers retreated. That is why street selection matters here more than the suburb median. The card’s highest public housing share means you need to buy the right pockets, not just the postcode.
Port Macquarie scored 74 — steady, consistent, and priced more sensibly than Morley.
Boronia: the buyer got paid for waiting
Boronia, Victoria, postcode 3155, in the City of Knox, had 45 platform followers and was the first suburb from that council ever rated.
This was the strongest council on the card, and Boronia’s score reflects that.
- Sold median peaked at $953,000 in January
- It is now $857,500, about 10% off the peak
- Asking median fell from $1.1 million to $859,995
- Sellers retreated 21.8% from their asking peak
The council backdrop is what matters here:
- Knox population: 163,820
- Dwellings: 59,148
- Rated suburbs: 11
- Council average score: 88th percentile nationally
- Employment diversity: 73rd percentile
- Manufacturing: 16.2%
- Retail and healthcare: 12.1% each
- Approvals: 679 dwellings in a year, or 11.48 per 1,000 existing homes
- Five-year population growth: 0.35%, the 20th percentile
Boronia is an established middle-ring market where not much new is built at scale and not much leaves. That scarcity is the point.
On the house data:
- Rent: $600 per week, up 1.7%
- Gross yield: 3.64%, up from 3.27%
- Vacancy: 1.1%
- Days on market: 20
- Sales in 12 months: 390
- Owner occupied: 63%
- Investor: 21%
- Public housing: 2.23%
Boronia won because the rent held, the price fell, and the yield rebuilt by 37 basis points without needing growth in rent. The ask has converged with the sold line. Sellers are finally asking what buyers will pay.
That is why Boronia scored 75.
Why yield separated the winner from the runner-up
This episode shows the same lesson three different ways:
- Morley: the buyer paid for growth already delivered
- Port Macquarie: the buyer kept the income and bought a market that sellers had reset
- Boronia: the buyer was handed a lower entry point and a better yield profile
Morley’s yield fell from 4.53% to 3.70%. Boronia’s yield rose from 3.27% to 3.64%. That is the difference between chasing a run and buying after a markdown.
The Ripehouse Advisory take
The headline lesson is not that one suburb is “good” and another is “bad”. It is that the score changes when price direction changes. That is why professional research matters: you want to know whether you are paying for growth that has already happened, or buying into a reset where yield and price have improved together.
If you are buying for income, Port Macquarie’s 3.98% yield is the best on the card. If you are buying for value, Boronia is the one where the repricing is already in the numbers. And if you are looking at Morley, you need to be very clear about what you are paying for at the door.
Download our no-cost Top Five Markets Report 2026 → https://www.ripehouseadvisory.com.au/lp/26/02/2026-boom-locations/access-report?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=showdown_inverted&utm_content=showdown-inverted
If you’re comparing suburbs on yield alone, the harder question is whether you’re buying after the run has already been priced in or into a market where sellers have reset; the Ripehouse Advisory webinar can help unpack that difference using the same scorecard approach.
Frequently asked questions
Why did Morley score so much lower than Port Macquarie and Boronia if it had strong population growth?
Morley scored lower because buyers had already paid for the growth. Its sold median rose sharply, but the gross yield fell from 4.53% to 3.70%, so the price took the return.
What made Port Macquarie the strongest income market in this comparison?
Port Macquarie had the highest gross yield on the card at 3.98%. It also saw sellers cut asking prices by 16.3%, which made the market look more sensibly priced.
Why was Boronia rated as the best value opportunity?
Boronia’s sold median fell about 10% from its peak while rent held and yield improved from 3.27% to 3.64%. That meant buyers were entering at a lower price with a better income profile.
What risk should buyers watch for in Port Macquarie?
The article says street selection matters more than the suburb median. Port Macquarie also has the highest public housing share on the card, so buyers need to be careful about which pockets they choose.
What is the main lesson from these three suburbs for Australian property buyers?
The score changes when price direction changes, not just when prices are high or low. Buyers need to know whether they are paying for growth that has already happened or buying after a reset where yield and price have improved together.
General information only. It does not take your objectives, financial situation or needs into account, and nothing here is legal, financial, taxation or investment advice specific to your circumstances.
