You’ve probably heard of the ripple effect?
This happens in property all the time. You get a surge of price growth in one spot (usually the city – the hub of employment) and as prices get too high, buyers begin to fan out around that spot, looking slightly further afield to find a home as close as possible to their preferred location.
Sydney provides a classic example. It doesn’t always happen this way but traditionally, we’ll see a surge of activity and price growth in the desirable inner city ring (within 10km of the CBD) and eventually this activity will creep into the middle ring (within 10km-20km of the CBD).
The middle ring of any capital city is very appealing for buyers, especially family buyers. You tend to get bigger blocks of land, bigger houses or apartments, good quality facilities and easy public transport into the city. It’s still a reasonably quick commute so family buyers, in particular, see great value in buying a little further out to get that extra bedroom or backyard space for their money.
A couple of weeks ago we looked at a new report from CoreLogic RP Data that revealed the Top 5 most affordable suburbs in each city’s inner ring, based on median house and apartment values. Now they have followed that up with the same statistics for the middle ring. Check this out.
Here is CoreLogic RP Data’s analysis of the locations of these affordable suburbs.
Sydney – all of the most affordable suburbs for houses are either in the Canterbury or Bankstown council areas. For apartments, all of the suburbs are located west or south-west of the CBD.
Melbourne – all of the suburbs listed for houses except Albanvale are located in the Hume council area. For apartments, all of those listed are either in the Hume or Brimbank council areas.
Brisbane – for houses, all of the suburbs listed are to the south-west of the city except Woodridge, which is in the south. For apartments, they are all located outside the Brisbane council area and are split between the north and south.
Adelaide – all of the suburbs listed for houses are located in the Salisbury region. All of the suburbs listed for apartments are either in Salisbury or Port Adelaide Enfield.
Perth – the most affordable suburbs listed are all located within the Swan or Gosnells council areas. Three of the most affordable apartment suburbs are in Swan, one is in Wanneroo and one is in the Stirling council area.
Hobart – for both houses and apartments, all of the most affordable suburbs listed are located in either the Brighton or Glenorchy council areas.
Darwin – all of the suburbs listed for houses are located in the Palmerston council area except for Karama, which sits right on the border of the Darwin council area. For apartments, all of the suburbs listed are in Palmerston except Wagaman and Karama.
Canberra – most of the affordable suburbs for houses are located north or north-west of the city centre. For apartments, the most affordable suburbs are more dispersed across the city.
If you’re compromising and looking to buy in the middle ring instead of the inner ring for affordability, make proximity to amenities a priority – especially public transport options that take you to the CBD quickly. Look at rail line suburbs and those with established cafés and restaurants, as well as good schools and recreational facilities.
