With rents surging across the country, many suburbs are offering impressive returns but when it comes to high rental yield investment Australia, yield alone shouldn’t drive your decision.

New data from Savings.com.au highlights 18 house markets and 15 unit markets with rental yields above 10%.

While these figures sound appealing, property expert Terry Ryder of Hotspotting warns many of these locations are risky. They’re often remote, rely on a single industry, and offer little chance of future capital growth.

Lightning Ridge (NSW) tops the list with a 19.4% house yield, followed by Coolgardie (WA) at 17.3%.

Despite the strong cash flow, long-term gains in these areas are uncertain.

In contrast, capital city unit markets offer a better balance of yield and growth.

Of the top 100 unit markets, Darwin leads with 17 suburbs, followed by Perth (12), Melbourne (6), Brisbane (2), and one each in Adelaide and Canberra.

The top-performing capital city unit market is Brassall in Ipswich, part of Greater Brisbane, delivering an 11.4% yield a strong result in a growing metro region.