Media releases

Westpac Suburb Snapshot reveals best buys in Australia’s key metropolitan regions

 

3 February 2014

  • The top five most affordable, average and affluent suburbs per region in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide

Westpac has identified the top five most affordable1, the average and the leading affluent suburbs for Australia’s major metropolitan regions.

The Westpac Suburb Snapshot, developed in partnership with RP Data, has uncovered useful insights for those looking to buy, sell or who are simply curious about their neighbourhood.

“Westpac understands that the dream of many Australians is to own their home sooner,” said Gai McGrath, General Manager Retail Banking at Westpac.

“When looking for a home to buy it’s important to be armed with as much information as possible. The Westpac Suburb Snapshot helps buyers identify insights into affordable and mid-range suburbs in the regions they want to live or invest in, and is similarly useful to those planning on selling their property to identify where their suburb falls.

“Identifying that there are particular suburbs in each region that represent value for money is vital when considering a purchase in that area. If paying off your home loan as quickly as possible is a top priority, purchasing at the right price is a great start.”

Westpac Suburb Snapshot - key insights per city

For the full Snapshot for any of the cities, please contact:
Alicia McDonald (0412 049 729 / alicia@mapandpage.com.au).

Sydney

  • Paddington is ranked as the second most affordable suburb to buy a unit in the Eastern Suburbs, with a median unit value of $533,057 ahead of Kingsford ($545,925) and Matraville ($569,335). Over the past 12 months, 120 units have sold in Paddington, with more than half (52.5%) selling for between $400,000 and $800,000.
  • Carramar is ranked as the most affordable suburb to purchase either a house and unit across all regions, with a median value of $416,585 and $246,049 respectively. While slightly more expensive, Westmead (median unit value $393,381) sold more than 300 units over the past 12 months compared with just 41 in Carramar.
  • Redfern ranks as the City and Inner South’s fifth most expensive suburb for houses with a median value of $1,091,940, ahead of other popular suburbs such as Newtown ($870,643) and Chippendale ($777,048). Over the past 12 months, 84 houses have been sold in Redfern, with the majority (70.7%) sold between $800,000 and $2,000,000.

Melbourne

  • The most affordable houses can be found just eight kilometres from the CBD at Coburg and Pascoe Vale, where the typical median house value is under $650,000.
  • Carlton is ranked as the most affordable unit suburb in the Inner City region, showing a median unit value of just $251,210.
  • Ranked in the mid-range category, the ever popular suburb of St Kilda shows surprisingly good value compared to other suburbs in the Inner City region, with the median house value of $835,524.
  • Brighton is ranked as the most expensive suburb in Melbourne’s Inner South, even though it is further from the city than the other most expensive suburbs in the region such as Kooyong and Malvern.


Brisbane

  • The most affordable Inner City suburb is Seven Hills; with a median house value of $580,619 this suburb provides good value for being so close to the city.
  • Victoria Point (median value $308,947) is the fifth most affordable suburb for units in Brisbane’s East, which offers great value for money for a waterside suburb.
  • Ascot and Hamilton, both located in Brisbane’s Inner City, are ranked as the most expensive suburbs for houses across all regions. Median house values sit at $1.2 million and $1.1 million respectively.

Adelaide

  • Adelaide’s North provides some of the most affordable housing across the nation’s capital cities, with the median house value starting at just $176,749 in Smithfield Plains.
  • Central Adelaide and the Hills region have some of the most expensive house values across the Greater Adelaide market place, however there are still some relatively cost effective options. Paradise, for example, is the most affordable suburb, sitting at just over $400,000 per house.
  • Surprisingly, in Adelaide’s North the most expensive suburb is almost 30 kilometres away. Humbug Scrub shows a median house value of $578,866 which can be attributed to the large block sizes providing acreage living.

Perth

  • Across all regions examined, Medina is ranked as the most affordable suburb to purchase a house with a median value of $277,476 and Orelia is the most affordable suburb to purchase a unit with a median value of $198,860. Both are located in Perth’s South West.
  • Glendalough is ranked as the most inexpensive suburb in the Inner City to buy a house or unit, with median values sitting at $447,745 and $319,612 respectively, and is the only suburb in this region with a median house value less than $500,000.
  • Peppermint Grove is ranked as the most expensive suburb to buy a house across all regions, with a median value of $3,699,422. Only 24 houses were sold in the suburb over the past 12 months, with the majority (95.8%) selling for over $2,000,000.

The Westpac Suburb Snapshot

The Westpac Suburb Snapshot was developed in partnership with RP Data using median unit and house values as at December 2013. It uncovers the top five most affordable (inexpensive median values), average (mid-range median values) and affluent (most-expensive median values) suburbs per region for both houses and units.

Cities included are Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

Tips to help you on your journey to find the right home

1. Understand the market

  • Finding the perfect property will be a lot easier if you do your homework
  • Do your research on the locations you are considering to ensure you are making the right choice for your budget.
  • Determine your criteria to help refine your property search within your borrowing capacity.
  • Obtain property reports and reliable market information to gauge accurate market figures for the areas you are interested in.

2. Getting your finances ready

  • Home loan calculators are available to give you an indication of your borrowing capacity, which is a useful guide initially.
  • Speak to your bank to ensure you know just how much you can borrow. They can provide you with an approval in principal which will allow you to make an offer on properties for sale or going to auction.

3. Location, location, location

  • Your weekdays are spent short listing properties and your weekends are spent inspecting them.
  • Set up email alerts for suitable properties in your desired area that meet your criteria so you don’t miss any opportunities.
  • Consider using tools such as The Westpac Home Finder app, which allows you to search for properties based on what you want as well as rate, review, take photos, compare and add auction details to your phone.

4. Moving towards your purchase

  • Line up a team you can call on to help you move quickly to purchase (banker, solicitor and building inspectors).

5. You’re in! Now focusing on truly owning your home

  • If paying off your home loan is a priority there are a number of simple steps you can take; setting up an offset account, scheduling automatic payments and making payments more frequently.
  • Use an offset calculator to visualise how you can save money and reduce the life of your loan westpac.com.au/homeowns.

1 Most affordable suburbs are classed as those holding the lowest median house and unit value within the region.