Property bargains: Where to find the most affordable capital city suburbs within 20km of the CBD

A bargain property buy can still be had within 20km of a city centre. With plenty of listings complemented by perfect weather conditions for finding property, RP Data has been able to highlight a treasure trove of suburbs this week now offering excellent value for money.

Topping the list for most affordable capital city suburbs for houses and units using the following distances are:

• Less than 5km from city centre – Waterloo for houses and Enmore for units
• 5 to 10km from city centre – Gregory Hills for houses and Eastlakes for units
• 10 to 15km from city centre – Greenacre for houses and Lakemba for units
• 15 to 20km from city centre – Granville for houses and Glenfield for units

With dwelling values increasing by 73% over the past decade, housing affordability is a concern for many prospective home buyers. The most highly sought-after areas of the city tend to be those which are close to the city centre.

These areas are also generally the most expensive in which to purchase a home.

But RP Data’s results show that if buyers chose to live close to the city centre, the dominance of affordable units within a 20km radius may provide a viable and more affordable alternative, given that the cost of purchasing is often significantly lower than it is for a detached house.

Outside of city centres the value of detached houses generally becomes more affordable. Unlike the detached house market results, the most affordable suburbs for units do not continue to get more affordable the further you move away from the city centre.

This is often due to the fact that in some regions closer to the city, small and affordable one bedroom units often dominate the product offering. The city centre is typically the most mature unit market with a large number of older developments.

New unit developments are becoming increasingly common across the middle ring suburbs now which can reflect in higher values. Looking at the most affordable suburbs across each region, once again, units provide a significantly cheaper alternative in most situations.

Results overview: Houses

Of those suburbs located less than five kilometres from the city centre, Sydney’s Waterloo is the most expensive at just over $607,000 (median prices) while Warrane in Hobart is the most affordable at $231,267. Across each city except Adelaide and Hobart, the most affordable suburb within five kilometres of the city centre is still going to cost more than $500,000 to buy the ‘average’ home.

Focusing on houses located within five to ten kilometres from the city centre, once again Hobart has the most affordable suburb while Darwin has the most expensive.

In most capital city markets, the majority of homes within five to ten kilometres of the city centre would cost in excess of $400,000.

Once you move to between 10 and 15 kilometres from the capital city centre, housing begins to become much more affordable in most cities.

Across the cities, Chigwell in Tasmania is the most affordable ($188,090) and Greenacre in Sydney is the most expensive ($516,560).

Between 15 and 20 kilometres from the capital city centre, the most affordable suburbs have a median house value below $300,000 in each city except for Sydney Darwin and Canberra.