Suburbs where it’s cheaper to buy than rent in NSW, Victoria, QLD, WA, ACT and Tasmania

A report has revealed there are 3300 suburbs across Australia that are cheaper to buy in then rent — and you could save $20,000 a year.

People could save up to $1620 a month by choosing to buy in some parts of Australia compared to renting, new research has found.

There are 3300 suburbs or a quarter of homes across Australia where it is cheaper to buy than rent. But this is a sharp drop from the same time last year when half of all properties offered savings when purchasing compared to leasing, the report from PropTrack found.

Beating out Sydney, Victoria was the worst place to buy rather than rent with only 7 per cent of properties cheaper or just 365 suburbs.

Despite this, pockets in the north, east and west of Melbourne provide affordable house options for buyers, the report revealed.

However, prospects were also dire in NSW where only 9 per cent of properties were cheaper to buy, with price rises across Sydney making renting houses cheaper than purchasing almost everywhere across the city.

There were just 570 suburbs for houses that were cheaper to buy and 317 for units in NSW.

Victoria pushed out NSW for a lack of affordability in property. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift

Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory offered the best deal across the country with 50 per cent of properties cheaper to buy than rent.

In Brisbane, suburbs to the south and southwest of the CBD provided affordable house options for buyers, while across the state there were a whopping 1227 suburbs that were cheaper compared to renting.

Buying in the town of Jimna in QLD also offered some of the biggest money wins compared to renting with homeowners saving a whopping $1119 a month instead of renting.

An outer suburb of Darwin called Fly Creek offered even bigger savings by buying with an extra $1620 put in people’s pockets.

In Hobart, home buyers could save $707 a month by buying in the suburb of Gagebrook instead of renting, while Hillman in Perth scored people an extra $716 monthly.

The NSW Central Coast suburb of Spencer was the best deal for homeowners, allowing them to save $644 a month by purchasing a home in the area compared to renting.

Queensland, WA and the NT had the most homes available where people would be better off buying rather than renting. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

But the savings were much smaller in Canberra and Melbourne. The suburb of Bonner in the ACT delivered $223 a month in savings to buyers, but just $91 for Melbourne homeowners in the south east suburb of Bangholme.

Despite one of the biggest increase in property prices during the pandemic, Tasmania also offered 41 per cent of properties that were cheaper to buy than rent with 186 suburbs on offer.

In 2021, much of Hobart was estimated to be cheaper to buy then rent houses, but this has shrunk to pockets in the northwest and west of the CBD due to strong price growth, the report found.

In South Australia, it is cheaper to buy than rent 34 per cent of properties, including in 431 suburbs and the most affordable options are in the north of Adelaide city.

“More than a quarter of homes are estimated to be cheaper to buy than rent over the next 10 years, based on current prices,” said PropTrack economist Paul Ryan.

“This is despite the exceptional price growth we have seen over the past two years, and rising interest rates.”

PropTrack economist Paul Ryan. Picture: Supplied.

But the balance between buying and renting homes has changed significantly over the past year, Mr Ryan warned.

“Mortgage rates have already increased 75 basis points in 2022 so far, with further increases expected. Combined with strong growth in home prices – which are up 14 per cent – renting has become a more affordable option across most of the country now compared to a year ago,” he said.

Suburbs where it was cheaper to rent included the exclusive area of Watsons Bay in Sydney with homeowners slugged an extra $25,117 a month by owning, the rural Victorian town of Main Ridge which saw homeowners forking out $17,670 more a month and the inner city suburb of Tenerife in Brisbane which cost buyers $5286 more a month.

“Those looking to live in houses in the inner-city can save by renting, particularly in suburbs along the Brisbane River,” Mr Ryan said.

“Buying conditions are very favourable in more peripheral parts of Brisbane to the south and southwest of the CBD. House price growth of 26 per cent over the past year has reduced the relative attractiveness of buying houses across Brisbane, particularly in the north and the west of the city.”

In South Australia, it is cheaper to buy than rent 34 per cent of properties. Picture: NCA NewsWire /Brenton Edwards

But a slowdown in house prices could tip the scales back to buying offering a better deal, he added, as rents start to skyrocket.

“Across the country, median advertised rents have increased by more than 9 per cent over the past year, with pressure increasingly shifting from regional to capital city areas,” he said.

More than a third of units nationally are also estimated to be cheaper to buy than rent, the report also revealed.