Are you curious to know whether ASX shares vs. property delivered the best income for investors in 2024?
In this article, we present the current gross rental yields for houses and apartments in each of the capital cities and regional property markets.
We also review the trailing dividend yields for the top 10 ASX shares by market capitalisation.
Gross property rental yields across Australia
According to CoreLogic data, weekly property rents kept rising but at a slower pace over 2024.
Over the year, national weekly rents rose by 4.8%.
This is the smallest annual change since the 12-month period ending March 2021. But it's still more than double the pre-pandemic decade average annual growth rate of 2%.
CoreLogic's national rental index rose by 0.4% in the last quarter of calendar year 2024. This was the smallest December quarter increase since 2018.
CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said rental growth was slowing down across most capital cities except the ACT and Hobart.
This is due to a reduction in demand caused by lower net overseas migration, a trend towards larger capital city households, and continued affordability challenges.
The steepest falls in gross yields over the year occurred in the apartment markets of Perth (down 71 bps to 5.5%), Brisbane (down 54 bps to 4.5%), and Adelaide (down 36 bps to 4.7%).
Darwin apartments experienced the biggest rise in gross rental yields last year, gaining 47 basis points (bps) to 7.9%. Melbourne apartments had the second-highest rise at 37 basis points to a yield of 4.8%.
Shares vs. property: How does the income stack up?
Here are the current gross rental yields in each property market across Australia.
| Property market | Gross rental yield for houses | Gross rental yield for apartments |
| Sydney | 2.7% | 4% |
| Melbourne | 3.2% | 4.8% |
| Brisbane | 3.4% | 4.5% |
| Adelaide | 3.5% | 4.7% |
| Perth | 4% | 5.5% |
| Hobart | 4.3% | 4.8% |
| Darwin | 6.2% | 7.9% |
| Canberra | 3.8% | 5.1% |
| Regional New South Wales | 4.1% | 4.4% |
| Regional Victoria | 4.2% | 5% |
| Regional Queensland | 4.4% | 4.6% |
| Regional South Australia | 4.6% | 5.1% |
| Regional Western Australia | 5.8% | 7.9% |
| Regional Tasmania | 4.4% | 5.1% |
| Regional Northern Territory | 7.2% | N/A |
Trailing dividend yields for the top 10 ASX shares
For perspective, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) lifted 7.49% last year, with total gross returns (including dividends) of 11.44%.
The ASX 200 usually delivers a 4% dividend yield, so last year's 3.95% is in line with the long-term trend.
Here are the trailing dividend yields for the top 10 ASX 200 shares by market capitalisation.
| 10 largest ASX 200 shares by market cap | 12-month trailing dividend yield |
| Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) | 2.91% |
| BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) | 5.6% |
| CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) | 1.38% |
| National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) | 4.39% |
| Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) | 4.53% |
| Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) | 2.8% |
| ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) | 5.62% |
| Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) | 2.72% |
| Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) | 0.81% |
| Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG) | 11.21% |
