Affordable suburbs might be far and few between these days, but they don’t have to be hours away from the closest commercial centres.
Suburbs with the lowest median value within 10km of a capital city CBD were mostly found in Hobart and Perth, according to CoreLogic research.
Savvy house hunters can find the cheapest inner-city investments in Risdon Vale, 8km from Hobart’s CBD. It has a median value of about $287,000, which went up by 10.6 per cent in the past five years, making it the suburb with the strongest house price growth in that period.
Not too far away, Clarendon Vale, with a median house price of some $302,000, came second on the list, followed by neighbouring Rokeby, where the median is about $323,000.
For units, your best bet for a centrally located property that won’t break the bank is Perth’s Osborne Park, about 6km from the CBD. The median unit price there is almost $240,000 and you can also expect a solid rental return of 6.1 per cent with median rents at $280 a week – one of the best yields you’d be able to find within 10km of Perth’s CBD.
And 8km from Darwin, median-priced units in Millner would set buyers back some $240,000, with median weekly rents at $330 on a 7 per cent yield. Back in Perth, investors can find typical units in Glendalough, 5km from the CBD, for about $241,000.
If you’re lucky enough to have a bigger budget to work with, there are some good finds within 10km of Sydney’s CBD as well.
CoreLogic research indicates that the most affordable houses in Sydney’s inner ring can be found in Arncliffe in 9.9km from Sydney’s centre. The inner south suburb has a median house value of nearly $1.1 million.
Arncliffe also has one of the city’s most affordable unit markets within 10km of the CBD, with a median price of $708,000. Its units fetch median weekly rents of $550 on a 4.6 per cent yield.
But for the best bargain units in Sydney without venturing beyond the inner city, Eastlakes tops the list, with the median value at about $587,000. What’s more, the suburb is only 6km from central Sydney.
Investment-wise, units in Eastlakes can typically return about $480 a week on a 4.5 per cent yield.
One thing to be aware of with buying an investment unit is the higher-than-average number of new high-rise apartment completions expected for the first half 2020, CoreLogic Head of Research Tim Lawless said.
“Precincts with higher supply levels could face some downward price pressures as new stock enters the resale market, especially at a time when many buyers are cautious of newly built projects due largely to concerns around high supply levels and construction quality.”
