Units May Be The Answer

Lender rates top 20 near CBD suburbs for affordability

Apartments and units have risen to the top of many property investors lists.

More of us are living in them, it seems, probably because we want to live somewhere close to amenities like cafes, shopping centres and transport links.

Apartments and units can offer a more affordable option especially when buying near capital city CBDs.

Online lender, Well Money, released a top 20 list of near-CBD suburbs in August 2022, which match affordability, desirability and within reasonable commute. The benchmark was sub-$750,000 outlay for buyers. The report ranked the suburbs not by postcode’s median sale price but the order of years it would take an average income household in that suburb to buy a property outright. This ranged from three years to 3.8 years over the 20 on the list.

The Canberra suburb of Macquarie came in at #1 with a medial unit sale price of $300,000.

The Perth suburb of City Beach followed, with a median sale price of $579,000 for a unit; then also in WA, Aubin Grove at $415,000. WA also had Canning Vale ($410,000) at #11.

Queensland had the most suburbs named – #4 Wavell Heights ($440,00); #5 Camp Hill ($520,000); #7 Wakerley ($517,500); #8 Ashgrove ($507,000); #10 Alderley ($415,000); #12 Bridgeman Downs ($530,000); #13 Norman Park ($535,000); #16 Paddington ($529,999); and #17 Parkinson ($420,000).

South Australia had #6 Mawson Lakes ($333,000); #9 Plympton ($285,000); #14 Parkside ($380,000); #18 Wayville ($393,000); #19 Prospect ($388,000); and #20 Brooklyn Park ($287,000).

The Northern Territory had #15 with Marrara ($370,000).

The ranking provided no information about unit size, complex facilities, and other such considerations.