Cranbourne vs Cranbourne North: $17,835 apart, and 0.17% of yield between them
Cranbourne or Cranbourne North — is the northern half actually a different investment?
Short answer: as investments they are the same suburb — buy Cranbourne for the block, Cranbourne North for the primary school
These are the two deepest matched records we hold: 67 Cranbourne settlements and 30 Cranbourne North settlements, all January 2023 – September 2025. On the numbers that usually decide a purchase they are indistinguishable. Median purchase price $601,040 against $618,875 — $17,835 apart. Median gross yield after works 5.80% against 5.63% — 0.17% apart. On second-dwelling additions specifically, 5.82% across 60 in Cranbourne against 5.86% across 18 in Cranbourne North. That is as close to identical as two samples of that size get. The two real differences are land — 650 sqm against 621 sqm — and schooling, where Cranbourne North's Tulliallan Primary School ranks #424 of 1,285 against Cranbourne's Cranbourne Primary School at #761, but Cranbourne offers 11 indexed schools against 3. Decide on the lot, not the postcode suffix.
The answer changes with your situation — here is each one, decided
You want the biggest block for a second dwelling
Cranbourne, marginally — median land 650 sqm against 621 sqm, a gap of 29 sqm. At that margin the individual lot matters far more than the suburb: two lots on the same Cranbourne North street will differ by more than 29 sqm.
You want the strongest primary school
Cranbourne North. Tulliallan Primary School ranks #424 of 1,285 on 2025 NAPLAN against Cranbourne Primary School at #761 in Cranbourne, and Alkira Secondary College ranks #220 of 607 on 2025 VCE results.
You want the most school choice
Cranbourne, with 11 indexed schools against 3. Cranbourne North is a newer estate area with a thinner but higher-ranked set — depth versus quality, and which one matters depends on whether you are letting to families or living there.
You will not renovate at all
Cranbourne North. Its cosmetic-only median gross yield after works is 5.35% across 12 settlements, against 5.06% across only 6 in Cranbourne. That is the one comparison where the samples are lopsided enough for the difference to mean something.
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.
This pair is where that rule was first visible to us. Cranbourne and Cranbourne North are both inside the four-suburb frame, and their granny-flat medians — 5.82% and 5.86% — sit at opposite ends of a 0.04-point spread that also contains Hampton Park and Narre Warren. Meanwhile the granny-versus-cosmetic gap inside Cranbourne alone is far larger than anything separating the two suburbs. If you are choosing between these two on yield, you are optimising a variable that our data says barely moves.
Cranbourne vs Cranbourne North: what our own settlements record
| Cranbourne | Cranbourne North | |
|---|---|---|
| PremiumRea settlements on record | 67 | 30 |
| Settlement window | January 2023 – September 2025 | January 2023 – September 2025 |
| Median purchase price | $601,040 | $618,875 |
| Median weekly rent after works | $810 | $815 |
| Median land size | 650 sqm | 621 sqm |
| Median works spend | $105,000 | $95,600 |
| Median total capital deployedpurchase price + works spend — this is the yield denominator | $710,280 | $706,000 |
| Median gross yield after worksweekly rent × 52 ÷ (purchase price + works spend); gross — excludes land tax, management, insurance, maintenance, vacancy and interest | 5.80% | 5.63% |
| Median purchase price to Nov 2025 valuationa dollar observation against one valuation round over 1–3 year holds, not a growth rate | $77,310 | $75,000 |
| Granny-flat additions (median gross yield after works) | 60 · 5.82% | 18 · 5.86% |
| Rooming-house conversions (median gross yield after works) | 1 · 6.94% | none on record |
| Cosmetic renovation only (median gross yield after works) | 6 · 5.06% | 12 · 5.35% |
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.
What 97 matched settlements let us say
Most suburb comparisons anywhere on the internet rest on portal medians covering every dwelling type in the postcode. This one rests on 67 and 30 investor purchases handled by the same firm to the same brief over the same window (January 2023 – September 2025). That is a matched sample: the buyer, the strategy and the period are held constant, so what remains is the suburb.
And what remains is very little. $17,835 on median price, $5 a week on median rent, 0.17% on median gross yield after works, 29 sqm on median land. The honest headline for this comparison is that the two suburbs are one market, and the useful content is everything else on the page.
Where they do diverge: works spend and the cosmetic path
Median works spend was $105,000 in Cranbourne and $95,600 in Cranbourne North. The composition explains it: 60 of Cranbourne's 67 settlements were second-dwelling additions against 18 of Cranbourne North's 30. Cranbourne is, in our record, overwhelmingly a build suburb; Cranbourne North is more evenly split.
That shows up in the cosmetic-only comparison. Cranbourne North's 12 cosmetic-only settlements returned a median gross yield after works of 5.35%, against 5.06% across 6 in Cranbourne. If your plan is to buy, tidy and let, the newer stock in the north has the better record — and it has a real sample behind it, which the Cranbourne cosmetic figure does not.
Two school profiles, not one better one
Cranbourne carries 11 indexed schools with a strongest primary result of Cranbourne Primary School at #761 of 1,285 and a strongest secondary of Lighthouse Christian College Cranbourne at #164 of 607. Cranbourne North carries 3, with Tulliallan Primary School at #424 and Alkira Secondary College at #220.
The northern set is smaller and ranks higher, which is the normal signature of a newer estate area — fewer, newer schools serving a younger demographic. For a landlord the number of options matters more than the top rank, because it widens the tenant pool. For a resident the top rank matters more.
Location, council and the second-dwelling pathway
| Cranbourne | Cranbourne North | |
|---|---|---|
| Postcode | 3977 | 3977 |
| Distance from CBD | 45 km | 43 km |
| Council | City of Casey | City of Casey |
| Rail access | Cranbourne station, Cranbourne line | Merinda Park station, Cranbourne line |
| Second-dwelling pathway | Victorian Amendment VC253 applies | Victorian Amendment VC253 applies |
Schools: Cranbourne vs Cranbourne North
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.
| Cranbourne | Cranbourne North | |
|---|---|---|
| Schools in our indexed set | 11 | 3 |
| Strongest primary (NAPLAN rank) | Cranbourne Primary School · #761/1,285 | Tulliallan Primary School · #424/1,285 |
| Strongest secondary (VCE rank) | Lighthouse Christian College Cranbourne · #164/607 | Alkira Secondary College · #220/607 |
Limits of this comparison
Cranbourne's cosmetic-only median rests on 6 settlements and should not be read as a suburb-level figure. Cranbourne North has no research profile page on this site, so its column carries no market estimate against which to sanity-check our settlements. 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.
Cranbourne vs Cranbourne North — frequently asked questions
Is Cranbourne or Cranbourne North better for an investment property?
On our 97 matched settlements (January 2023 – September 2025) they are effectively the same investment: $17,835 between median purchase prices and 0.17% between median gross yields after works. Cranbourne has 29 sqm more median land and 11 indexed schools against 3; Cranbourne North has the better-ranked primary school. Choose on the individual lot.
Is Cranbourne North more expensive than Cranbourne?
Slightly. Median settled prices were $618,875 in Cranbourne North and $601,040 in Cranbourne — $17,835 apart across 30 and 67 settlements. That is inside the range you would see between two streets in either suburb.
What yield do Cranbourne investment properties achieve?
Across our 67 Cranbourne settlements (January 2023 – September 2025) the median gross yield after works was 5.80%: 5.82% across 60 second-dwelling additions and 5.06% across 6 cosmetic-only purchases. Gross yield excludes land tax, management, insurance, maintenance, vacancy and interest.
How many properties has PremiumRea bought in Cranbourne?
67 in Cranbourne and 30 in Cranbourne North, out of 345 published settlements (January 2023 – September 2025). Cranbourne is the deepest single-suburb record in the dataset.
Can I build a granny flat in Cranbourne North?
Our median Cranbourne North lot is 621 sqm, over the 300 m² threshold, and 18 of our 30 settlements there were second-dwelling additions with a median gross yield after works of 5.86%. Amendment VC253 removes the planning permit for a self-contained dwelling of 60 m² or less in the Residential Growth, General Residential and Neighbourhood Residential zones; a building permit is still required and an overlay can reinstate the planning permit.
Which has better schools, Cranbourne or Cranbourne North?
Different profiles. Cranbourne North's Tulliallan Primary School ranks #424 of 1,285 on 2025 NAPLAN against Cranbourne's Cranbourne Primary School at #761. But Cranbourne carries 11 indexed schools against 3, so it offers more choice at a lower top rank.
Are Cranbourne and Cranbourne North the same postcode?
Yes, both 3977, both in the City of Casey. They differ on transport: Cranbourne has Cranbourne station, Cranbourne line and Cranbourne North has Merinda Park station, Cranbourne line.
Which is better if I am not going to renovate?
Cranbourne North, on the only strategy comparison where the samples are lopsided enough to matter: 12 cosmetic-only settlements at a median gross yield after works of 5.35%, against 6 at 5.06% in Cranbourne. Newer stock needs less work to reach a lettable standard.
What is the median land size in Cranbourne?
650 sqm across our 67 settlements (January 2023 – September 2025), against 621 sqm across 30 in Cranbourne North — a difference of 29 sqm. Both medians sit comfortably above the 300 m² threshold that governs the Victorian second-dwelling permit exemption.
How much did renovations cost in these suburbs?
A median of $105,000 in Cranbourne and $95,600 in Cranbourne North. The second-dwelling subsets were $105,000 and $105,000 respectively. Those medians are historical costs on our settlements, not quotes.
Is Cranbourne a good suburb for a first investment property?
It is the market where we hold the most repetitions of the same strategy — 60 second-dwelling additions in one suburb, at a median gross yield after works of 5.82% (January 2023 – September 2025). For a first purchase, buying where the playbook has the deepest evidence behind it is usually worth more than chasing a fractional yield edge elsewhere.
What was the capital position on Cranbourne purchases?
The median difference between purchase price and the November 2025 valuation was $77,310 in Cranbourne and $75,000 in Cranbourne North, over holding periods of one to three years. Those are dated observations against a single valuation round, not a growth rate, and we do not publish them as one.