Carrum Downs vs Frankston: $120,745 buys a station, a strategy and 1.04% of yield
Carrum Downs or Frankston — which is better if I have around $700,000 to $800,000?
Short answer: Frankston if you will do the works, Carrum Downs if you genuinely will not
This pair separates cleanly on one question: are you going to renovate? Our 6 Carrum Downs settlements (February 2023 – December 2024) had a median works spend of $5,750 — essentially buy-and-hold — and produced a median gross yield after works of 5.31%. Our 17 Frankston settlements (February 2023 – September 2025) had a median works spend of $85,933 and a median gross yield after works of 6.35%, 1.04% points higher, on a median purchase price $120,745 higher. Frankston is also the only suburb in this comparison with a station in it and a strategy menu: 6 second-dwelling additions at a median 6.70%, 7 rooming-house conversions at 6.46%, 4 cosmetic-only at 5.46%. Carrum Downs, in our record, is one strategy — buy it, hold it, keep the works spend near zero.
The answer changes with your situation — here is each one, decided
You want a passive rental with no building project
Carrum Downs. Median purchase $679,255, median works spend $5,750, median gross yield after works 5.31% across 6 settlements (February 2023 – December 2024). The low works spend is the point: this is a suburb where our record is buy-and-hold and the returns are what they are without a project.
You will run a renovation or a build
Frankston. Median works spend $85,933 across 17 settlements produced a median gross yield after works of 6.35%, and the second-dwelling subset (6 settlements) reached a median 6.70% — the highest granny-flat median of any suburb in our record with at least four of them.
You want a rooming-house conversion
Frankston, and only Frankston. 7 of our 17 Frankston settlements were rooming-house conversions at a median gross yield after works of 6.46%. We have none in Carrum Downs. Note the compliance chain: operator licence under the Rooming House Operators Act 2016, council registration under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008, and usually Class 1b building requirements.
Your tenant needs a train
Frankston, which has Frankston station, terminus of the Frankston line. Carrum Downs has no station in the suburb; Seaford station about 6 km south-west, so a car is assumed. That shapes the tenant pool more than most investors allow for.
The rule this comparison is an instance of
Across 144 granny-flat additions in Cranbourne, Cranbourne North, Hampton Park, Narre Warren (January 2023 – September 2025), the median gross yield after works — weekly rent x 52 divided by purchase price plus works spend — landed between 5.82% and 5.86% in every one of those four suburbs, a 0.04 percentage-point spread, while inside each of those same suburbs the gap between a granny-flat addition and a cosmetic renovation was 0.51 to 1.03 points, across 48 cosmetic-only settlements. In our own record, what the block let us build moved the gross yield more than which suburb we bought in.
Carrum Downs and Frankston are the cleanest illustration in the whole series, because the strategy difference is visible in the works spend before you even look at the yield. $5,750 median works in Carrum Downs against $85,933 in Frankston is not two markets behaving differently — it is us running two different playbooks, and the 1.04%-point gap in median gross yield after works is largely the price of that difference rather than a property of the postcode.
Carrum Downs vs Frankston: what our own settlements record
| Carrum Downs | Frankston | |
|---|---|---|
| PremiumRea settlements on record | 6 | 17 |
| Settlement window | February 2023 – December 2024 | February 2023 – September 2025 |
| Median purchase price | $679,255 | $800,000 |
| Median weekly rent after works | $648 | $1,130 |
| Median land size | 651 sqm | 612 sqm |
| Median works spend | $5,750 | $85,933 |
| Median total capital deployedpurchase price + works spend — this is the yield denominator | $726,155 | $875,000 |
| Median gross yield after worksweekly rent × 52 ÷ (purchase price + works spend); gross — excludes land tax, management, insurance, maintenance, vacancy and interest | 5.31% | 6.35% |
| Median purchase price to Nov 2025 valuationa dollar observation against one valuation round over 1–3 year holds, not a growth rate | $127,500 | $120,000 |
| Granny-flat additions (median gross yield after works) | 2 · 5.45% | 6 · 6.70% |
| Rooming-house conversions (median gross yield after works) | none on record | 7 · 6.46% |
| Cosmetic renovation only (median gross yield after works) | 4 · 4.96% | 4 · 5.46% |
Every figure in the settlement columns is recomputed at build time from PremiumRea's published transaction dataset — 345 anonymised settlements, January 2023 – September 2025, CC-BY-4.0, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20095886. DENOMINATOR: the settlement gross yield is weekly rent × 52 ÷ (purchase price + works spend), verified against all 345 rows — so it is a return on total capital deployed, and dividing the median rent by the median price will not reproduce it. Research-profile columns are market estimates, not settlements, and their implied gross yield is recalculated as weekly rent × 52 ÷ purchase price rather than quoted.
Read the works spend before the yield
Median works spend of $5,750 in Carrum Downs against $85,933 in Frankston is the single most informative pair of numbers on this page. It says our Carrum Downs purchases were bought to hold and our Frankston purchases were bought to change. Every yield comparison downstream of that has to be read as a comparison of two strategies, not two suburbs.
It also changes the capital arithmetic. Total capital deployed is purchase plus works: on our medians the $120,745 entry-price gap narrows sharply once the Frankston works spend is included, so an investor comparing on purchase price alone is comparing the wrong number.
Frankston is a three-strategy suburb; Carrum Downs is a one-strategy suburb
Frankston's 17 settlements split 6 second-dwelling additions (6.70% median gross yield after works), 7 rooming-house conversions (6.46%) and 4 cosmetic-only (5.46%). That spread of 17 properties across three playbooks is unusual and it is why the suburb rewards an investor with flexibility.
Carrum Downs' 6 settlements split 2 second-dwelling additions (5.45%) and 4 cosmetic-only (4.96%). No rooming houses. The suburb's median land of 651 sqm is comparable to Frankston's 612 sqm, so the constraint is not the lot — it is that the tenant demand structure supported a different use.
Schools, and what they mean at this price point
Frankston carries 13 indexed schools against Carrum Downs' 4, with Frankston High School at #183 of 607 on 2025 VCE results against Carrum Downs Secondary College at #337. On primary, Frankston Heights Primary School sits at #332 of 1,285 and St Joachim's School at #343.
At this budget the catchment is a resale argument rather than a rent argument. Both suburbs rent to a working household; the school gap shows up when you sell, in the size of the buyer pool that treats the property as a home rather than a yield.
Location, council and the second-dwelling pathway
| Carrum Downs | Frankston | |
|---|---|---|
| Postcode | 3201 | 3199 |
| Distance from CBD | 38 km | 45 km |
| Council | City of Frankston | City of Frankston |
| Rail access | no station in the suburb; Seaford station about 6 km south-west | Frankston station, terminus of the Frankston line |
| Second-dwelling pathway | Victorian Amendment VC253 applies | Victorian Amendment VC253 applies |
Schools: Carrum Downs vs Frankston
Primary ranks are 2025 NAPLAN, secondary ranks are 2025 VCE. Our indexed school set covers Victorian schools only, so a NSW column is shown as blank rather than partial.
| Carrum Downs | Frankston | |
|---|---|---|
| Schools in our indexed set | 4 | 13 |
| Strongest primary (NAPLAN rank) | St Joachim's School · #343/1,285 | Frankston Heights Primary School · #332/1,285 |
| Strongest secondary (VCE rank) | Carrum Downs Secondary College · #337/607 | Frankston High School · #183/607 |
Limits of this comparison
Carrum Downs rests on 6 settlements, Frankston on 17. The Frankston strategy splits are usable; the Carrum Downs splits are not — 2 second-dwelling additions is an anecdote, not a median worth acting on. The Carrum Downs window (February 2023 – December 2024) also closes earlier than Frankston's (February 2023 – September 2025), so that column is the less current of the two. Gross yields are gross: they exclude land tax, management, insurance, maintenance, vacancy and interest. We do not publish days-on-market, vendor-discount or auction-clearance series for any suburb — those come from licensed providers whose terms do not permit redistribution, and we would rather carry a visible gap than an unlicensed number.
Carrum Downs vs Frankston — frequently asked questions
Is Carrum Downs or Frankston better for investment?
Frankston if you will renovate, Carrum Downs if you will not. Our 17 Frankston settlements (February 2023 – September 2025) recorded a median works spend of $85,933 and a median gross yield after works of 6.35%; our 6 Carrum Downs settlements recorded $5,750 of works and 5.31%. The 1.04%-point difference substantially reflects the works, not the suburb.
What yield can I get in Frankston?
Across our 17 Frankston settlements (February 2023 – September 2025) the median gross yield after works was 6.35%, splitting into 6.70% on 6 second-dwelling additions, 6.46% on 7 rooming-house conversions and 5.46% on 4 cosmetic-only purchases. Gross yield excludes land tax, management, insurance, maintenance, vacancy and interest.
Is Carrum Downs cheaper than Frankston?
Yes on entry — median settled prices of $679,255 and $800,000, a gap of $120,745. It is much closer on total capital deployed, because our median works spend was $5,750 in Carrum Downs against $85,933 in Frankston.
Can I run a rooming house in Frankston?
7 of our 17 Frankston settlements were rooming-house conversions, with a median gross yield after works of 6.46% and a median works spend of $85,933 across all strategies. The pathway requires an operator licence under the Rooming House Operators Act 2016, registration with council under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008, and generally Class 1b building compliance. Consumer Affairs Victoria administers the licensing.
Does Carrum Downs have a train station?
No. no station in the suburb; Seaford station about 6 km south-west. Frankston has Frankston station, terminus of the Frankston line. For a tenant without a car that is a hard constraint rather than a preference, and it narrows the pool a Carrum Downs rental draws from.
Which has bigger blocks, Carrum Downs or Frankston?
Carrum Downs marginally — median land 651 sqm against 612 sqm, a difference of 39 sqm. Both clear the 300 m² threshold governing the Victorian second-dwelling permit exemption, so lot size is not what separates these two.
What is the best strategy for a Frankston investment property?
Our record does not name one, it names three with different medians: 6.70% on 6 second-dwelling additions, 6.46% on 7 rooming-house conversions and 5.46% on 4 cosmetic-only, all settled February 2023 – September 2025. The rooming-house median is the highest and carries by far the heaviest compliance load; the second-dwelling median is the highest granny-flat figure in our record for any suburb with at least four.
How far is Frankston from Melbourne?
About 45 km with Frankston station, terminus of the Frankston line, in the City of Frankston. Carrum Downs is about 38 km in the same council area, with no station in the suburb; Seaford station about 6 km south-west.
Is Frankston worth the extra money over Carrum Downs?
If you will do works, yes on our numbers: $120,745 more on the median purchase price returned 1.04% more on the median gross yield after works, plus access to two strategies Carrum Downs did not support in our record. If the property will be bought and held untouched, the case weakens sharply.
Which suburb has better schools?
Frankston — 13 indexed schools against 4, with Frankston High School at #183 of 607 on 2025 VCE results and Frankston Heights Primary School at #332 of 1,285 on 2025 NAPLAN. Carrum Downs' strongest are Carrum Downs Secondary College at #337 and St Joachim's School at #343.
What did PremiumRea pay in Carrum Downs?
A median of $679,255 across 6 settlements (February 2023 – December 2024), on median land of 651 sqm, with a median works spend of $5,750 and a median rent after works of $648 a week. The median difference between purchase price and the November 2025 valuation was $127,500.
Is bayside Melbourne good for high-yield investing?
Frankston is the strongest bayside-corridor record we hold: 17 settlements at a median gross yield after works of 6.35% (February 2023 – September 2025), including the highest granny-flat median in our dataset for any suburb with at least four such additions (6.70% on 6). Carrum Downs sits 1.04% points lower on a buy-and-hold basis.