Merrimac, QLD 4226
Gold Coast City, Queensland
Good to Know
Merrimac, QLD 4226 is a high-value house market in the Gold Coast City Council area, currently positioned as a long-hold capital growth submarket. Located on the Gold Coast, south of Brisbane's CBD, Merrimac is home to roughly 7,212 adults across 3,011 dwellings and currently records a vacancy rate of 1.16%.
According to HtAG Analytics, Merrimac is exhibiting balanced supply with firm demand. Stock on Market sits at 0.54% and Inventory at 3.9 months — around the ~3-month balanced-market threshold — driving +14.6% YoY price growth and +7.7% YoY rent growth.
What the market data is signalling
Merrimac's data shows a clear capital-growth tilt: one-year price growth of +14.6% outpaced rent growth of +7.7%, while gross yield sits at 3.66% (above the 3% minimum but modest for yield-driven strategies). With a vacancy rate of 1.16%, Stock on Market at 0.54% and Inventory of 3.9 months, the market is balanced but favouring sellers — turnover is quick (DOM 33 days) which supports the strong price outcome. For a visual snapshot, see the Markets in the Moment (MiM™) heatmap.
Who lives in Merrimac — and why it matters for investors
Merrimac scores 997 on IRSAD, above the recommended threshold, indicating relatively advantaged socio-economic conditions that tend to support capital stability and lower neighbourhood volatility. The renter/owner split is 34.0% renters (neutral band), and the units/houses mix is 43.0% (neutral), suggesting the suburb remains predominantly owner-occupied and house-focused — a profile that typically favours long-term capital performance. See our IRSAD Crossover study for how these social metrics influence growth patterns.
Why suburb-level data matters for Merrimac
Suburb-level metrics give the clearest read on Merrimac itself: typical house price is $1,319,960, gross yield is 3.66%, Stock on Market is 0.54%, Inventory is 3.9 months and days on market are an opportune 33 days. Council-level averages can hide these local dynamics, so investment decisions should rest on Merrimac's own figures rather than broader aggregates. Read more on methodology in our LGA vs Suburb research.
For a downloadable breakdown, grab the full Merrimac data guide.
What's behind the RCS™ score of 59
The HtAG RCS™ bundles three independent dimensions — risk minimisation, capital-growth potential and cashflow resilience — into a single composite to help match suburbs to strategy. Merrimac's 59 reflects solid capital momentum tempered by stretched affordability and moderate yields; looking at the sub-score breakdown helps identify whether this market suits a growth, balanced or risk-averse plan. Learn how the RCS™ is built.
open Merrimac in HtAG Copilot to explore the sub-score drivers and scenario modelling.
Forward signals to watch
The vacancy rate — currently 1.16%: sustained low-to-balanced vacancy over 12–24 months points to continued rental tightness that supports both rent growth and low incentive-driven listings, but it limits yield expansion.
The building approvals ratio — currently 0.67%: this neutral reading implies moderate new supply capacity; not enough to flood the market, but watch approvals for any sustained uptick that could add listings pressure.
The wider Brisbane cycle phase: a city-wide swing into structural expansion would likely boost demand spill‑over into Merrimac, while a broader slowdown would test local momentum despite the suburb's favourable fundamentals.
Does this area meet your investment goals?
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RCS Breakdown
Merrimac's RCS™ headline is an overall signal — but it doesn't tell you why. The three sub-scores below reveal whether that score is earned through risk minimisation, capital growth, or cashflow — and which portfolio brief it fits.
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Market Trends
Merrimac's headline values — $1,319K to buy and $924PW to rent, a 3.64% gross yield. Over the past decade, prices have moved 156.86% and rents 93.33% — the Yield series shows whether that gap is widening (price outpacing rent, yield compressing) or closing.
$1,319K is today. The 10-year trajectory reveals whether that's the top of a run, the start of a new leg, or somewhere mid-cycle. Sign up to unlock the entire trend line.
$924PW today, with rent growth at (+7.66% YoY) compared to price growth (+14.56%). That spread determines yield is expanding or compressing across the next cycle. Sign up to unlock the entire trend line.
Where is Merrimac in its cycle - and is the 3.64% yield holding?
Cycle phase tells you whether you're buying near the bottom (room to run) or top (compression ahead). Yield trajectory tells you whether cashflow is durable or being eroded — the single most important question for a long-hold thesis.
Cycle Phase
Cycle Position
Yield Trajectory
Rent vs Price Spread
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Area Risks
Property data alone won't flag the structural risks that can erode a long-hold position. Bushfire overlays, flood-zone exposure, and economic concentration sit outside the price feed but determine whether your capital is insurable, defensible, and structurally protected. Unlock to see.
Are there hidden structural risks shaping Merrimac's long-hold story?
Beyond the headline price, Merrimac carries risk signals a median can't show — hazard exposure from bushfire and flood overlays, and how narrowly local employment leans on a handful of sectors (the concentration the EDI score quantifies). Together these separate insurable, defensible long-holds from those carrying tail-risk that never surfaces in the headline number.
MADI Risk
EDI Risk
Bushfire
Flood
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Critical to know
Supply & Demand
Merrimac's headline numbers show where the market is today. The two cards below answer where it's heading. Direction is what separates a buy from a wait.
Is housing supply tightening or building up?
Stock on Market is one number — the trend is what matters. SoM, inventory, building approvals and hold period together reveal whether the market is starving for stock (price pressure up) or quietly building a pipeline (pressure down).
Stock on Market
Inventory
Building Approvals
Hold Period
Is buyer and renter demand heating up or cooling off?
Vacancy is one signal — the real question is whether demand is still building or quietly peaking. Days on market, vacancy, search index and clearance rate are the four pulse-points — when they diverge, they signal a turning point.
Days on Market
Vacancy Rate
Search Index
Clearance Rate
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Fundamentals
Merrimac can look solid on the surface — but the three layers below separate markets that genuinely hold value from ones that only look like they do.
Is Merrimac genuinely stable - or just expensive?
IRSAD hints at affluence, but socio-economic strength alone doesn't guarantee resilience. Combined with the renter-to-owner balance and unit-to-house ratio, you get the three signals that separate a tightly-held submarket from one carrying hidden volatility.
IRSAD
Renter to Owner
Units to Houses
Where do Merrimac prices go over the next 12 months?
Today's headline price is just a snapshot. Projected ROI and the volatility index tell you whether to commit capital now, wait for a softer entry, or rotate into a steadie submarket.
Projected Annual ROI
Volatility Index
Can you actually buy into Merrimac - and exit cleanly?
Tightly-held areas reward long-hold investors but punish anyone who needs liquidity. Annual sales and rental volume reveal whether your capital can reposition — or sits structurally locked in.
Annual Sales Volume
Annual Rental Volume
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Important to know
Education & Infrastructure
Merrimac looks tightly-held and stable on the surface — but the three layers below separate areas that genuinely hold value from ones that only look like they do.
Does Merrimac's school catchment + infrastructure pipeline justify the price?
School ranks anchor family demand and tenant quality. The active infrastructure pipeline shifts a suburb's price ceiling over the next 5–10 years. Together they tell you whether Merrimac has structural support for the next leg of capital growth.
School Rank
Hospitals & Employment
Infrastructure Spend
Transport Projects
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Full HtAG Intelligence
Merrimac shows potential. The platform tells you whether it's the best fit for your portfolio.
Price and yield are only the surface. HtAG reads the forces underneath — supply tightening or loosening, demand heating or cooling, and the risks that move slowly but decide long-term growth. Together they show whether Merrimac has the structural support for its next leg — or whether the numbers are running ahead of the fundamentals.
The total adult population (15 years or older) of Merrimac 4226 QLD is 5,850, with a median age of 38. Of those, 40.19% are married, 16.84% are divorced or separated, 36.97% are single and 5.93% are widowed.
The average household size is 2.6 people per dwelling, and the median household monthly income is estimated to be $7,564. The median monthly mortgage repayment for households in this suburb is $1,733 which is 22.91% of their earnings.
Source: ABS Census Data (2021)