Why ‘cheaper to buy than rent’ suburbs are still out there

Rising interest rates have not upset the numbers in dozens of suburbs where it’s still relatively cheap to buy.

Perth has some bargains for prospective homebuyers wanting to break from the rent cycle.

You might have thought that the endless escalation of mortgage rates would rule out finding suburbs where buying was cheaper than renting.

Not so.

There are at least 40 suburbs around the nation that are both cheap and offer strong prospects for the homeowner or investor, according to Terry Ryder, founder and chief executive of the Hotspotting group.

In the latest The Money Puzzle podcast, Ryder in conjunction with the Canstar group, as pinpointed dozens of suburbs where residents would be better off taking out a mortgage and moving to home ownership instead of paying rent.

Rent rises have been in double digits across many suburbs and Ryder says rates may have run much higher – but the numbers still stack up for home ownership.

The best value homes are to be found in Perth, while there are bargains to be had in apartments across the nation – even within metropolitan Sydney in “hot spots” such as Mascot and Stanmore.

Overall, the report found 110 suburbs Australia-wide which rate as hot spots. The majority of those suburbs have an average median price below $600,00.

Better still, mortgage repayments are cheaper than rent in 40 suburbs, assuming the buyer borrows 80 per cent of the home price.

Who is the guest?

Terry Ryder is founder and CEO of the Hotspotting group

Why him?

Ryder is a consultant to retail and wholesale buyers of Australian property with a specialisation in analysing residential property data to find trends in real estate.

What are the topics this time?

THE best-value suburbs in Australia;

BETTING on Brisbane‘s Olympic boom;

THE city with the cheapest suburbs (It’s in WA);

INNER city apartment bargains.

Question of the week

Regular listener Geoff, asks: “How might the Brisbane Olympics affect the property market over the next 10 years?”

Questions always welcome to the podcast, via [e-mail]