Perth is the cheapest location in Australia to buy a home, with the outer suburbs representing good value for first home buyers, according to an expert.
Real Estate Institute of Western Australia Chief Executive Officer Cath Hart said there were more than 500 houses available throughout the Perth metropolitan area for under $400,000.
“The dream of home ownership is very much still alive in Western Australia,” Ms Hart said.
“Whilst the biggest issue facing the Perth property market right now is the housing shortage, Perth still has the cheapest median house price out of all the capital cities and the statistics show there are still a range of affordable houses to choose from.
Ms Hart said the challenge for buyers is that competition is fierce and they must act quickly to secure a property.
“Many of these listings will become under offer in a matter of days, with the median time to sell a house in Perth currently at 15 days,” she said.
“While many of the suburbs are at the outer edge of the metropolitan area such as Ellenbrook and Baldivis, the pandemic normalised working from home and hybrid working arrangements which has seen interest in lifestyle properties increase.”
Topping the list of affordable first home buyer suburbs is Balga with 56 houses for sale at or under $400,000 at the end of October.
“Balga is just 11km from the CBD and has a median house price of $365,000 which is well below the Perth median of $535,000,” Ms Hart said.
“This should give confidence to prospective buyers who want to live close to the CBD that they don’t have to pay millions like you would in Sydney or Melbourne,” Ms Hart said.
Other suburbs to make it onto the list include, Armadale, Gosnells, Ellenbrook and Baldivis.
Ms Hart said Perth is the cheapest capital city in Australia to buy a house.
“Despite strong market conditions over the past two years, first home buyers can rest assured that Perth is still very affordable, and we are best placed in the country to manage the costs of servicing a home loan in the face of rising interest rates thanks to our strong economy,” she said.
