Despite the recent boom in property prices across the country, there are still plenty of affordable options in the major capital cities, according to an expert.
While Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra have by far the highest property prices in the country, there are still opportunities in the smaller capital cities.
Sydney-based buyers agent Lucy Bulla said it was a good time to purchase a home.
“I think if anybody is ready to buy at the moment, now’s the time to buy,” she told News.com.au.
“You’ve got less competition out there and you can really pick up some, I wouldn’t say good deals, great deals, but really fair prices for property.”
Ms Bulla said rising interest rates had impacted buyers’ borrowing power, which has put downward pressure on property prices.
“It’s a whole lot of things, like the fact that the cost of living has gone up, that is also impacting prices,” she said.
“Yes, interest rates are going up, but we’ve had higher interest rates for many years (before), it’s only now that we’ve had these really low interest rates.
“So I think once people get used to the new interest rates, it’ll be the new normal.”
NSW
Sydney has seen a significant boom in prices, but for the time being, they are headed towards the bottom of the cycle according to Ms Bulla.
“Right now we’re in the low,” she said.
“As soon as everyone gets confident again with the interest rates, it will start to increase again.
“Whenever we go through a low period, it’s always far less than the growth period.”
Ms Bulla said the most affordable suburbs within 30km of the CBD would still set you back up to $2.5 million.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say ‘these’ suburbs are affordable,” she said.
“But what I’m seeing a lot of are people who got priced out last year, they are now finding things within reach.”
Victoria
Prices in Melbourne haven’t fallen away as far as Sydney but there are opportunities in some suburbs within 20km of the CBD.
According to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria, the cheapest is Dallas, where the median price is $540,000.
Other suburbs include Meadow Heights ($568,250), Broadmeadows ($608,000), Laverton ($615,000), Kings Park ($645,000) and Albanvale ($648,888).
While properties in Westmeadows will cost you about $735,000.
South Australia
Despite currently seeing some of the strongest price growth in the country, Adelaide is still a very affordable capital city.
According to the Real Estate Institute of South Australia, Elizabeth North and Davoren Park both have a median price of just $325,000.
Other affordable suburbs include Smithfield and Andrews Farm for under $400,000.
While Newport still has a median price of $437,000.
Western Australia
Perth is still relatively affordable compared to the East Coast and there are still some cheap suburbs close to the CBD.
According to the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia, the cheapest suburb is Armadale, which is priced at a median of just $290,000.
Other affordable suburbs include Camillo ($307,500), Brookdale ($319,250), Middle Swan ($340,000), Gosnells ($350,000), Lockridge ($350,000), Stratton ($352,500), Midland ($358,500), Balga ($360,000) and Maddington ($360,000).
