Housing crisis: Is it better to buy or to rent on the Northern Rivers?

Check your suburb in our interactive graph: Rental growth has stagnated as new data reveals which Northern Rivers towns you should be investing in.

Intense demand for real estate across the Northern Rivers has seen prices skyrocket over the past year, but despite that, buying may still be the cheaper option for many residents.

New REA Group data has revealed more than half of Australian homes will be cheaper to buy than rent over the next 10 years, at current prices.

This rings true on the Northern Rivers, where house ownership in several suburbs is cheaper than associated rental costs.

In Lismore, where the median sale price for a three-bedroom house is $420,000 and the median rent is $385, those who chose to buy could be saving $572 per month.

That figure includes monthly mortgage repayments, maintenance, insurance, council costs and more.

However in areas of hot demand, like Byron Bay, those renting are still getting the better deal, saving a whopping $2778 per month.

Realestate.com.au economist Paul Ryan said low mortgage interest rates were to account for the buyer boom.

“Interest rates can currently be fixed below 2 per cent per year and the Reserve Bank of Australia has committed to maintaining low interest rates until at least 2024,” he said.

“This certainty that mortgage costs are not going to increase rapidly provides comfort to buyers borrowing larger amounts.”

Check out your suburb below:

Please note, analysis assumes buyers already have access to a 20% deposit and prices stand for a three-bedroom house.