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These are the top 10 affordable suburbs in the ACT

Despite the COVID-19 virus and related impacts on the Australian economy, the Canberra property market is strongly forging ahead.

 

Until the recent lockdowns the Canberra economy had appeared almost bulletproof through the coronavirus recession, supporting by high level so government employment and the highest median household incomes in the nation.

 

The housing market in Canberra has in turn been a top performer over the past year.

 

However, there are still pockets of affordable houses that are around 70 per cent of the median price for the capital city, according to Pete Wargent, co-founder of BuyersBuyers.com.au.

 

Mr Wargent said that “with mortgage rates still close to the lowest on record all capital cities offer some opportunities for those with a reasonable buffer and a level of employment security”.

 

“With first homebuyers still active, and now competing with investors for a low level of stock on the market, we expect affordable suburbs to be sharply in focus. Stock levels in Canberra have been exceptionally tight, and properties have been selling very quickly” Mr Wargent said.

 

RiskWise Property Research has undertaken an in-depth analysis into the housing market identifying the top 10 affordable suburbs in the ACT.

 

The analysis clearly showed that detached houses represented solid buying opportunities for those with long-term strategies.

 

Mr Wargent of BuyersBuyers said “prices have often increased very significantly over the past year but there are still areas where bargains can be had and if you have a long-term strategy you can expect solid capital growth over the next few years”.

 

“There are still some opportunities for buyers looking for houses with high land value as a proportion of the property, and a strong component of scarcity, especially if they intended to hold on to the property for several years or longer”.

 

“In addition, the current ultra-low interest rates have created a unique environment where buying a house in many areas has been cheaper than paying rent on one” Mr Wargent said.

 

The top 10 suburbs for affordable houses in the ACT included a range of suburbs at around 70 per cent of the median capital city house price for the state.

 

Figure 1 – The top 10 suburbs for affordable houses in the ACT

The list comprised a range of suburbs which are located from around 10 to 20 kilometres from the Canberra Central Business District.

 

Median prices in the suburbs in question generally sit between $650,000 and $750,000, as compared to a median house price for Canberra of around $850,000.

 

Mr Wargent of BuyersBuyers.com.au said “COVID-19 has also helped strengthen ‘work from home’ opportunities, meaning owner-occupiers can take advantage of ‘lifestyle’ prospects instead of being so closely tied to the main employment hubs”.    

  

Mr Wargent of BuyersBuyers.com.au said that more affordable areas have been highly sought after as the number of first homebuyers in the market had recently surged to decade highs.   

  

However, Mr Wargent stressed while this is the case for houses in these areas, units continued to carry a materially high level of risk, on average.   

 

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Please Note: This list is based on suburbs that are around 70% of the median price and suburbs with at least 1,000 houses in the existing stock. It should be noted that the lower end of the market presents different types of risks.

 

ENDS

 

 

For all media enquiries, contact BuyersBuyers.com.au Media Manager Alison Sollory, alison.sollory@buyersbuyers.com.au

 

Visit www.buyersbuyers.com.au

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