The most affordable median house priced suburbs within 20km of the city centre also tend to be found in select council areas and regions. In Sydney, these are found in Parramatta and Bankstown; in Melbourne, it is Hume and Brimbank; in Brisbane, it is to the south and west of the city; in Adelaide, it is Salisbury and Port Adelaide; and, in Perth, the suburbs are situated in the Swan and Gosnells council areas.
The cheapest median house prices within 20km of a capital city centre are found in Hobart, followed by Adelaide and Brisbane. On the other hand, prices tend to be much higher in Sydney and Canberra. The suburb with the most affordable median house price within 20km of a capital city is Herdsman Cove in Hobart, which is 16km from the city centre and has a median price of just $138,000.
Across the unit market there are also some fairly clear trends. The most affordable suburbs tend to be a little closer to the city centre than they were for houses. In fact, 10 of the 40 suburbs listed as most affordable across each capital city are located less than 10km from the city centre.
Once again, in some instances the most affordable suburbs are clustered in particular council areas, however, they aren’t as heavily concentrated in one or a couple of areas as the housing market was.
The unit market also reflects the housing market in that the most affordable units tend to be in Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart, while they tend to be more expensive in Canberra and Darwin and, to a lesser degree, in Sydney. The suburb located less than 20km from the city centre with the lowest median unit price is Woodridge in Brisbane, with a median unit price of $190,000 – it is situated 19km south of the city.
Overall, the results show that some affordable housing options within 20km of each capital city’s centre do still exist. Examples of these lower priced suburbs are available across each city, however, in most cases, they are likely to be located further away from the city centre and have less local amenity than those suburbs closer in and more expensive.
The point is that price-sensitive purchasers should not give up completely on purchasing a home relatively close to the city centre – it will just take some time to find and may need some work. Alternatively, the unit market offers far more affordable housing options for those on a lower budget or looking to buy even closer to the heart of the city.
This article first appeared on RP Data.
