How to buy in Australia’s most desirable suburbs when you’re on a budget
Looking for the prime location at an affordable entry point? This might be your stepping stone into a blue-chip suburb.
Blue-chip suburbs are in prime locations, offer quality amenities and infrastructure, and tend to have a strong community base. For a number of Australians, living in these suburbs is the dream scenario, but many are well beyond their budgets.
Currently, the national median sale price of a house is $760,000. Homes in the 90th percentile, or the top 10 per cent of the market, have a median of $1.7m.
Don’t miss your copy of the May issue of Mansion magazine inside The Australian on Friday, May 30
To put that in perspective, the typical household in 2024 earned just over $112,000, according to PropTrack’s analysis of data from the ABS’s Survey of Income and Housing.
This means that purchasing a home in these top-end suburbs would require nearly 15 times the annual income of a typical household. In many luxury suburbs, it could be significantly higher, especially if the goal is to purchase a house.
While this is a challenge many face in accessing prestigious areas, opting for a unit can offer a more budget-friendly pathway to these lifestyle and location hotspots.
Exploring the suburbs with the largest difference in house and unit prices can highlight where the most cost-effective opportunities exist.
Bellevue Hill, Vaucluse and Rose Bay, all waterside suburbs in Sydney, had the greatest price gaps between houses and units in April 2025.
The median house prices were $9.2m, $7.5m and $6.7m respectively.
In contrast, units were $1.7m, $1.5m and $1.6m, reflecting a difference of $7.5m, $6m and $5.1m respectively. Although units in these suburbs are still priced higher relative to the median across the country, they provide a much lower entry point to these luxury suburbs.
Mosman, Bronte and Toorak were also ranked among the top suburbs where units were significantly more affordable than houses. Median unit prices were $1.42m, $1.7m and $820,000 respectively, marking a $4m-$4.3m difference compared to house prices.
Adding to the list, units in Hunters Hill, North Bondi and Greenwich were also priced well below houses.
The price of a unit was typically $3.5m-$3.6m less than a house in these suburbs.
Regionally, Surfers Paradise, Mermaid Beach and Byron Bay stand out, with substantial savings of $3m, $2.5m and $1.6m respectively, for those choosing units over houses.
Despite paying less, residents are still able to enjoy the lifestyle of these areas.
As Australia’s population increases, high-density living will become more prevalent, particularly in our cities. While this may take us further away from the dream of a suburban house on a big block of land, we are likely to see more units and townhouses being built in central and premium areas.
For people who are after location, amenity and community, either for lifestyle purposes, school zoning or proximity to work, units and townhouses offer an attractive alternative to houses.
With home prices projected to rise further in the future, we may see higher demand for affordable property types that offer the same benefits as a house, particularly in highly desirable suburbs.
This story is from the May issue of Mansion magazine, out on Friday, May 30.
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