House prices in Australia’s most liveable towns top $1 million

The leafy eastern suburbs of Melbourne and localities on Sydney’s northern beaches dominate a new list of Australia’s most liveable towns put together by BankWest.

The leafy eastern suburbs of Melbourne and localities on Sydney’s northern beaches dominate a new list of Australia’s most liveable towns put together by BankWest.

But you may need to have a chat to the bank manager before you rush out to buy yourself a slice of suburban heaven – the average house price in four of the five top rating locations tops $1 million.

The northern Sydney locality of Ku-ring-gai is ranked as Australia’s most liveable, based on BankWest’s analysis of 10 criteria including employment levels, crime rates, internet access, health, education levels, earnings, home ownership rates, house size, proportion of empty homes and community involvement.

Sydney claims two other spots in the top 10 with Hunter’s Hill and Mosman, but with four of the top 10 – Nillumbik, Manningham, Bayside and Boorondara – Melbourne can lay claim to the title as Australia’s most liveable city.

Perth claimed the next most spots in the top 10 with Peppermint Grove and Nedlands, while Adelaide scrapped in at 10th thanks to the Adelaide Hills. Queensland and the ACT don’t make the top 10 and have only one region each in the top 25 – the Darling Downs and the Weston Creek respectively – while Tasmania and the Northern Territory don’t appear until well down the list.

Unsurprisingly, people have been prepared to pay through the nose for homes in the most desirable areas. Median house prices in four of the top five localities top $1 million, with the median house price in Ku-ring-gai coming in at $1,024,500 and homes in fourth-placed Peppermint Grove in Western Australia the most expensive in the country at a median of $3,991,000.

But the list also reveals localities where a great lifestyle can be had at a lower cost. The north eastern Victorian shire of Indigo is best value for money, with a solid ranking of 15th on the list and median house price value in 2007 of just $228,000 – 28% below the state average.

Golden Plains in Victoria, Cambooya in Queensland and the Greater Hume Shire in New South Wales are other regional areas offering a good lifestyle for price trade-off.

The best value for money metropolitan region is the eastern outskirts Melbourne suburb of Yarra Ranges, with a quality of life ranking of 25 and median house price 1% below the state average of $315,000. The ACT’s Tuggeranong and Brisbane’s Pine River also offering quality city living at more affordable rates.

And the worst places to live? The Halls Creek town of Halls Creek in Western Australia’s Kimberley region won the liveability wooden spoon. And interestingly, the two least liveable metropolitan areas are the Melbourne and Sydney CBDs – so much for that glamourous inner city lifestyle.

Quality of life rankings – top 25 local government areas in Australia 

Source: Bankwest

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