Australia's premier city where you can still buy a house for under $250k
Homebuyers on a budget can still buy properties for under $250,000 in the suburbs just half an hour’s drive from downtown Brisbane.
The Queensland capital has been Australia’s best-performing capital real estate market during the pandemic with home values surging 27.4 percent in the year to June.
A median home price of $892,133 would be beyond the reach of the average breadwinner looking to pay off a home without being under the pressure of a mortgage.
Apartments in Brisbane usually cost $501,074, buying something near the city.
But there’s still pockets in Logan, a satellite town half an hour’s drive southwest of downtown Brisbane, where the midpoint price of a single unit is at half that level.
This means buyers on a tight budget, who want to also be closer to the Gold Coast, will be less affected by a spike in interest rates with borrowers already experiencing the Reserve Bank’s biggest hike since 1994.
In Woodridge, 23km southwest of central Brisbane, the mid-range price for an apartment is just $229,170, CoreLogic data shows.
Homebuyers on a budget can buy a home for under $250,000 in the suburbs just a short drive from Brisbane city centre. At Woodridge (apartment photo), 23km southwest of central Brisbane, the mid-range price for an apartment is just $229,170, CoreLogic data shows
Real estate agent Selene Bruynzeels (pictured) has increased interest from first-time buyers and investors in the suburbs of Waterford and Waterford West
Waterford West, 7km from Woodridge, has a median apartment price of $249,863 while that of Logan Central, $233,144.
Real estate agent Logan Selene Bruynzeels, of Ray White Beenleigh, said there was increasing interest from first-time buyers and investors in suburbs like Waterford and neighboring Waterford West.
Couples and families love the location close to Bunnings hardware and local private schools.
Ms Bruynzeels said the ‘amazing community’ offered first-time buyers a ‘good foot on the property ladder’.
Lower entry prices mean homes can be rented out so buyers can get a mortgage on a second property.
Ms Bruynzeels estimates a property in Waterford that cost $250,000 a year ago could now sell for up to $350,000.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t improve significantly,” he said.
In Ipswich, a little further southwest, the suburb of Goodna has a median unit price of $250,0006.
Those wanting a cheaper unit can head to Kooralbyn, an outback town on the Scenic Rim 100km southwest of Brisbane, where $201,400 is the midpoint price for an apartment.
Waterford West (pictured is a house on the market for $239,000) has a median apartment price of $249,863 while at Logan Central, it’s $233,144.
The city’s median house price of $619,151 is also affordable for the average full-time worker with a salary of $90,917.
With a 20 percent deposit, they will avoid the stress of a mortgage, in which they owe the bank six times or more of what they earn.
Real estate agent Mel Weir, of Right Fit Properties, has lived in Kooralbyn for almost a decade and notes that the town is ‘finally looking what it is’ – a picturesque town nestled in a valley away from the hustle and bustle of city life.
Weir expects home prices to more than double in the past 12 months, and says there aren’t enough properties to meet demand.
He said city workers were happy to drive up the Mount Lindesay Highway into town and back to the peaceful and serene Kooralbyn.
CoreLogic notes that the Logan-Beaudesert area of southeast Queensland has the most affordable apartments in Australia, with a median value of under $250,000.
It’s a similar story in Adelaide where the average unit price in Salisbury, 25km north of the city, is just $263,951.
That’s significantly cheaper than the larger Adelaide unit’s median price of $423,708 and the city’s median home price of $699,251, following a 27.4 percent annual increase.
Real estate agent Mel Weir, of Right Fit Properties, has lived in Kooralbyn for almost a decade and notes that the town is ‘finally looking what it is’ – a picturesque town nestled in a valley away from the hustle and bustle of city life.
Those wanting a cheaper unit can head to Kooralbyn, an outback town on the Scenic Rim 100km south of Brisbane, where $201,400 is the midpoint price for an apartment (pictured is a unit with an asking price of $249,000)
Adelaide and Brisbane are the strongest property markets in Australia.
But values fell in Australia’s larger capital, following the Reserve Bank’s 1.25 percentage point hike in May, June and July that has brought cash rates to a three-year high of 1.35 percent.
It also saw borrowers experience the steepest rate hikes since 1994.
Sydney was by far the worst-affected major city with median house prices in the June quarter dropping three percent to $1,382,631, with last month’s value alone dropping 1.8 percent, CoreLogic data showed.
Home prices in Melbourne fell 2.4 percent over the three months to $975,850, down 1.3 percent in June.
Home prices in Brisbane were flat last month.
But separate data from PropTrack, a data company linked to realestate.com.au showed home and unit prices in Brisbane fell 0.09 percent in June, marking the first monthly decline since April 2020 at the start of the pandemic.
The big four banks expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to raise interest rates by 0.5 percentage points in August and September.
CoreLogic notes that the Logan-Beaudesert area of southeast Queensland has the most affordable apartments in Australia, with a median value of under $250,000 (pictured is Woodridge’s house)
But ANZ expects the RBA rate to hit a 10-year high of 3.35 percent in November, with rate hikes of half a percentage point in August, September, October and on Melbourne Cup Day.
Commonwealth Bank, Australia’s largest home lender, expects Sydney and Melbourne house prices to fall 18 percent in 2023.
Brisbane prices are expected to rise six per cent in 2022 but fall 10 per cent in 2023 for a smaller net loss of four per cent.
Similarly, Adelaide is expected to see a six percent gain this year followed by an 11 percent decline next year with a five percent net loss.
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