Top 20 desirable suburbs to buy under $580,000

Property prices around the country are dropping, which has made purchasing a home in some desirable suburbs more affordable.

New research commissioned by Well Money found the top 20 housing markets around Australia that were relatively close to the capital city CBD for under $580,000.

The research analysed every suburb in Australia, before filtering out those deemed unaffordable for buyers on modest incomes.

To make sure suburbs were within commuting distance of the CBD, those more than 30km from the city centre were excluded.

To establish a top-20 ranking, these suburbs were then ranked based on the number of years it would take someone with the average household income (based on census data) in that suburb to buy a property outright valued at that suburb’s median sale price.

The ranking was done from lowest to highest.

The top 20 list consisted entirely of unit markets, spread over Queensland (9), South Australia (6), Western Australia (3), ACT (1) and the Northern Territory (1).

Well Money CEO Scott Spencer said this research would help first home buyers and those with average incomes identify good locations to buy.

“Now that property prices are falling in many parts of Australia, it’s become easier for first home buyers and young families to afford properties that are affordable, desirable and relatively close to capital city CBDs,” Spencer said.

“That said, it’s still challenging, because prices are declining from a high base.”

Spencer said that while a house may be the aim, a limited budget meant buyers would need to consider smaller homes.

“Apartments can be great places to live, but they don’t suit everyone,” he said.

“Unfortunately, if you want to buy a house in a desirable location, you need to extend your budget beyond $750,000.”

Top 20 suburbs to buy under $580,000