Cheapest suburbs for houses, units in Brisbane and regional Qld
Struggling buyers looking to land their first home could get in as much as $450,000 cheaper across Brisbane, with even bigger discounts in regional Queensland. SEE WHERE
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Hard hit first home buyers, whose numbers were crushed in the first half of 2023, could beat rising home prices by over $450,000 buying across Brisbane, with even bigger savings in regional Queensland.
Latest PropTrack data has revealed a $456,000 CBD proximity premium that house buyers are paying to get into the cheapest suburb in Brisbane’s inner ring compared to buying further afield – with even the most affordable middle ring area coming in $380,000 cheaper.
The data uncovered where buyers can find the most affordable prices for both houses and units within the inner, middle and outer rings of the Greater Brisbane region, and the 10 cheapest across regional Queensland.
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In the inner ring alone there was a $160,000 variation within the top 10 cheapest suburbs, with Hemmant priced at $785,000 for houses and Carina at $945,000 – both higher than Brisbane’s official dwelling price of $752,000, and on either side of the median house price of $844,000.
But bargain hunting buyers can save almost half those prices in the cheapest suburbs in the middle and outer rings, where PropTrack found median prices began respectively at $405,000 in Riverview and $328,250 in Russell Island.
Unit median prices were significantly better value than houses though across Greater Brisbane’s cheapest suburbs, where median started at $417,000 in Bowen Hills (inner ring), $245,000 in Logan Central (middle ring) and $287,500 in Waterford West (outer ring).
Across regional Queensland’s cheapest suburbs, houses are still surprisingly beating units for value, with none of the top 10 most affordable areas sitting above $210,000. House prices start from $150,000 in Charleville to $210,000 in Ingham across the regional top 10, while for units at least four suburbs still have median unit prices below $200,000 – South Gladstone $170,000, Bungalow $189,500, Manunda $197,000 and Emerald $197,000.
PropTrack senior economist Angus Moore said “for first-home buyers looking for more affordable suburbs, most are going to tend to be further from the city. But that’s not exclusively true, and there are some more affordable suburbs closer in, particularly for apartments. While the data shows suburbs that are typically more affordable, other more expensive suburbs may still have affordable options.”
He said “affordability is as challenging as we’ve seen it in at least three decades, which means conditions are very tough for first-home buyers, and we’re seeing that in the data”.
“After a busy year in 2021, when we saw more than 160,000 first-home buyers nationally amid relatively good affordability enabled by record low interest rates, we’re seeing far fewer first-home buyers this year. Over the first half of 2023, we’ve seen about half as many first-home buyers as we did at the same time in 2021.”
Real Estate Institute of Queensland CEO Antonia Mercorella said “there’s been a lot of talk about Brisbane property prices rapidly rising and playing catch up, but at the end of the day relative to southern markets we’ve still got a strong affordability edge here and an enviable lifestyle. Especially with the Olympics on the horizon, Brisbane is the most exciting city in Australia and is the one to watch.”
She said it was “understandable that people are considering moving further out from the city where your dollar goes further and you can get more space and land, which is great of course for growing families”.
“Particularly with the prevalence of hybrid work from home arrangements, people are making smart, strategic decisions to look in areas that may be a bit further out, but have good public transport and schools.”
MORE: See the latest PropTrack Home Price Index
She said it was also “unsurprising that buyers are increasingly recognising the value and appeal of apartments, particularly those wanting to get out of the strained rental market and on to the property ladder”.
“Over the past couple of years, the divide between house and unit prices in Brisbane has never been bigger, with units presenting a relative ‘bargain’ entry point and opportunity to live closer to the action.”
She warned the lack of listings hitting the market would mean “slim pickings for buyers hoping to secure a slice of the Sunshine State” as prices would be driven up by demand.
“The buyer mentality has now swung from FOMO (fear of missing out) to FOMM (fear of making a mistake), and accordingly we’ve seen the return of conditional contracts again.”
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