Australians can still buy a property for less than the cost of renting if they focus on suburbs battling a housing shortage that are still affordable.
Even during a cost-of-living crisis, it’s possible to pay less a month in mortgage repayments compared with the typical rent for the area.
In a larger city, this is achievable if a buyer purchases an apartment in an outer suburb with a 20 per cent loan deposit.
Areas with rapid population growth, like southeast Queensland and Perth, are in the grip of a rental crisis which means apartment landlords can get generous income from rents but only pay off a smaller mortgage.
Rental yields tend to be higher when properties are cheaper. This is the annual income investors get from rent as a proportion of a property’s value.
Those wishing to live in the home rather than renting it out can get even lower mortgage rates, making being a homeowner much easier than being a tenant.
Daily Mail Australia has found some affordable options in every state and territory, including examples in Sydney and Melbourne, where apartments are still cheap to buy despite an immigration influx.
Regional areas with tight rental markets are also proving good value.
Australians can still buy a property for less than the cost of renting if they focus on suburbs with a housing shortage (pictured is Springfield in Ipswich)
Goodna’s median apartment price of $397,770 is attainable for a middle-income earner
Ipswich, Queensland
Ipswich, south-west of Brisbane, is still affordable for someone looking for a unit, CoreLogic data shows.
Goodna’s median apartment price of $397,770 is attainable for a middle-income earner but it is in a flood zone.
Rents are a lot higher than typical mortgage repayments.
The mid-point rent on a two-bedroom unit works out at $460.10 a week or $2,038 a month, based on SQM Research data.
Someone with a 20 per cent mortgage deposit would owe $1,958 a month by comparison paying off a $318,216 loan on a 6.24 per cent variable rate with the Commonwealth Bank.
The 4300 postcode, covering Goodna, has a particularly low rental vacancy rate of 0.8 per cent, which is even lower than the capital city average of 1.3 per cent.
Orelia, Western Australia
Orelia, near Kwinana south of Perth, has an ultra-affordable middle unit price of $328,460
Salisbury in Adelaide’s north has an affordable median apartment price of $408,040
Western Australia is Australia’s fastest growing state with its 2.5 per cent growth pace well above the national average rate of 1.8 per cent.
A big influx of interstate migration into Perth is putting pressure on the rental market, giving it the nation’s lowest rental vacancy rate of 0.6 per cent.
Orelia, near Kwinana south of Perth, has a 0.8 per cent rental vacancy rate and a typical weekly apartment rent of $450.30.
But it still has an ultra-affordable middle unit price of $328,460.
The monthly rent of $1,994 for a two-bedroom unit is significantly higher than the $1,617 monthly repayments for a borrower with a 20 per cent deposit paying off a $262,768 mortgage.
Salisbury, South Australia
Adelaide has a particularly tight rental vacancy rate of 0.7 per cent and Salisbury in the city’s north is even tighter at 0.5 per cent.
This working class suburb, that was once home to Holden car factory workers, has an affordable median apartment price of $408,040.
The typical weekly rent of $405.70 for two-bedroom unit works out at $1,797 a month.
That is higher than the $1,757 level for a borrower with a 30 per cent mortgage deposit paying off a $285,628 loan.
Warwick Farm’s mid-point apartment price is still cheap at $420,059 in a city that receives a big influx of overseas migration
Melbourne is a generally affordable apartment market but Werribee in the city’s east if particular cheap with a median price of $414,589
Warwick Farm, New South Wales
Sydney’s south-west is expensive for houses but has affordable units.
Warwick Farm’s mid-point apartment price is still cheap at $420,059 in a city that receives a big influx of overseas migration.
But someone with a 20 per cent mortgage deposit would be paying $2,067 a month in repayments, with a $336,047 loan.
That is significantly less than $2,484 typically paid a month for a two-bedroom unit, based on a weekly rent of $560.90.
Werribee, Victoria
Melbourne is a generally affordable apartment market but Werribee in the city’s east is particular cheap.
Its median unit price of $414,589 means that someone with a 30 per cent deposit would be paying $1,785 a month in mortgage repayments.
This is slightly lower than the $1,800 rent for a two-bedroom unit, based on a median weekly rent of $406.60.
South Kempsey, New South Wales
The NSW mid-north coast has pockets of affordability with South Kempsey having an affordable median house price of $421,908 – and it’s just a 20-minute drive to the beach at Crescent Head.
The town, near the Slim Dusty Centre, is just off the duplicated M1 motorway and is a five-hour drive north of Sydney.
The area also has a tight rental vacancy rate of just one per cent.
Tenants leasing a three-bedroom house typically pay $581.60 a week or $2,576 a month. Buying is much cheaper with monthly mortgage repayments at $2,077 for a borrower with a 30 per cent deposit paying off a $295,335 loan.
South Kempsey has an affordable median house price of $421,908 and it’s just a 20-minute drive to the beach at Crescent Head
Merebein, Victoria
Merebein, a suburb of Mildura in north-west Victoria, has a particularly affordable median house price of $374,385.
Someone with a 30 per cent deposit, paying off a $262,070 mortgage, would be spending $1,612 a month in repayments.
This is less than the $1,697 a month for rent, based on a mid-point weekly lease of $383.30 for houses.
Moulden, Northern Territory
Darwin is Australia’s most affordable capital city market and the satellite town of Palmerston is even more affordable.
Moulden’s mid-point house price of $406,582 is particularly low.
The area, which is home to an Army base, also has a tight rental vacancy rate of 0.9 per cent. The typical rent of $580.60 a week for a three-bedroom house works out at $2,571 a month.
That is significantly higher than the $2,001 in monthly mortgage repayments for someone with a 20 per cent deposit paying off $325,266.
Unlike other parts of Darwin, Moulden’s median house price has risen by 7.7 per cent over the year.
Merebein, a suburb of Mildura in north-west Victoria, has a particularly affordable median house price of $374,385
The Palmerston suburb of Moulden’s mid-point house price of $406,582 is particularly low
Mowbray, Tasmania
Launceston, in northern Tasmania, has pockets of affordability with Mowbray having a median house price of $425,117.
The area’s ultra-tight rental vacancy rate of 0.6 per cent means renters are typically paying $461 a week for a three-bedroom house, working out at $2,041 a month.
That is cheaper than the $1,831 a month repayments for a borrower with a 30 per cent mortgage deposit paying off a $297,582 loan.
Lyons, Australian Capital Territory
Canberra is expensive for houses but still affordable for units.
Lyons, in the city’s south, has a mid-point apartment price of $377,743.
But buying is much cheaper than renting with monthly repayments of $1,859 on a $302,194 loan with a 20 per cent deposit.
Renting is particularly expensive with the median weekly lease of $635.10 for a two-bedroom unit adding up to $2,813.
Launceston, in northern Tasmania, has pockets of affordability with Mowbray having a median house price of $425,117
Lyons, in the Canberra’s south, has a mid-point apartment price of $377,743
