Fresh data from PropTrack has highlighted just how far a typical home-buying budget will stretch across Australian capital cities—and the results may surprise buyers and brokers alike.
While $1 million is now the median house price across the capitals, PropTrack’s suburb-by-suburb breakdown reveals that budget can buy everything in some areas — and very little in others.
Nationally, affordability is also improving. According to the REIA, the March quarter saw the biggest improvement in housing affordability since 2016, with the proportion of income needed for home loan repayments dropping to 48%. This reflects a combination of higher household income and reduced mortgage repayments.
PropTrack found that there are 106 capital city suburbs where 100% of houses are valued under $1 million, largely in outer areas. Even an $800,000 budget is enough to buy in 30 suburbs.
REA Group senior economist Anne Flaherty (pictured) said the data exposes the shifting demographics caused by housing affordability pressures.
“What it shows is that more and more people are being locked out of our inner- and middle-ring suburbs, and that’s leading to a shift in the demographics in different areas around our capital cities,” Flaherty said.
Still, she noted opportunities do exist—even in pricey areas—if buyers are willing to compromise.
“The main reason you would see a home in a more expensive suburb sell at a discount is because there’s actually money that needs to be spent doing it up,” Flaherty said.
“It basically comes down to what you're willing to compromise on – what’s more important, the location or the house?”
In Sydney, a $1 million budget buys every house in suburbs like Lethbridge Park and Tregear. But in central areas like Parramatta, just 13% of houses fall under that threshold.
“It’s been ages since I sold one under $1 million,” said Ray Fayad, principal at Laing+Simmons Parramatta. “I’m finding a lot of the locals from here are going further west to afford a first home.”
In Melbourne, buyers can afford 100% of homes in Broadmeadows or St Albans for $1 million. In suburbs like Yarraville or Seddon, about a quarter of homes are within that budget.
“You can buy something sub-$1 million on a decent size block,” said Huss Saad, managing director at Village Real Estate. “It might be a period home with a white picket fence that needs some work, but the opportunities are there.”
A $1.5 million budget stretches access even further. It buys 43% of homes in Rouse Hill, 59% in Moonee Ponds, and 73% in Engadine.
At $2 million, buyers can access 97% of homes in Doncaster and 82% in Carlton, but only 7% in Kensington and none in Sydney’s top 100 most expensive suburbs.
“People might assume that a particular suburb is out of reach,” Flaherty said. “But if they see they can actually afford one third of the homes… it broadens the range of potential suburbs they can look in.”
In Sydney’s Double Bay or Clontarf, less than 3% of homes fall below $3 million.
“Buying a house in them is just not even in the realm of possibilities for almost everyone,” Flaherty said.
Even in Queens Park, 15% of homes are under $3 million—but buyers will need to lower their expectations.
“The ones under $3 million are typically quite small,” said Edward Brown of Belle Property Bondi Junction.
“It'll most likely be a terrace rather than a semi, and it might be on a main road or something in need of significant work.”
To read the PropTrack analysis and see the list of suburbs with the largest share of houses/units under $500,000, head to realestate.com.au.
