Houses and units in more than 460 suburbs nationwide are now cheaper to buy than rent, with Queensland and Western Australia spoiling buyers with the most options across the capital cities.
Latest Finders data modelling shows Australia’s unit market provides buyers with the biggest low-mortgage opportunities across 280 suburbs, while an additional 189 localities offer big saving for house hunters.
This equates to 5 per cent of national suburbs where houses are cheaper to own than rent and 16 per cent of suburbs where units are cheaper.
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According to the data, QLD has the highest number of suburbs where it is cheaper to own than rent, with 58 suburbs working out this way for houses and 85 suburbs for units.
WA followed close behind, with houses cheaper to buy than rent in 41 suburbs and an additional 84 for units.
Victoria takes out the third place for units, with 43 suburbs cheaper to own than rent.
Find out how your state compares.
QUEENSLAND
In southeast Queensland, units owners in the Ipswich suburb of Brassall can expect the biggest saving of $201 a week.
This compares to the typical unit price of $155,608, with a weekly mortgage repayment of $169, while the weekly rent is $370.
In the capital, unit owners in South Brisbane are paying a weekly mortgage repayment of $704 if paying with a 20 per cent deposit. Rents are $770 a week.
Bowen Hills, Fortitude Valley and Spring Hill also provided units that were typically cheaper to pay off than rent.
In North Queensland, Airlie Beach, Cairns North, and Townsville’s Belgian Gardens were generally cheaper to buy in then rent.
On the Gold Coast, only Coombabah and Helensvale units provided a cheaper alternative to renting.
Source: Finder
NEW SOUTH WALES
New analysis has revealed repayments on an average unit have become cheaper than market rent in 26 Sydney suburbs, leaving new buyers over $100 a week better off than renters in some areas.
One of the suburbs where new buyers got the biggest savings by exiting the rental market was Haymarket, south of the CBD.
Median rent was an average of $123 per week costlier than repayments on units priced at the suburb median following this week’s rate cut.
Unit buyers in Winston Hills, near Parramatta, would get similar savings of about $121 per week.
Other suburbs where unit repayments were cheaper than rent included Parramatta region suburbs Granville, Harris Park, Merrylands,Guildford and Merrylands West. It was also cheaper to be a homeowner in Mascot and, in the southwest, in Wiley Park and Lakemba.
Source: Finer
VICTORIA
Victoria currently has 43 suburbs where buying a unit is cheaper than renting, including Carlton, Southbank, Burwood East, Flemington,West Melbourne and Williams Landing.
Finder’s suburb-level data revealed savings of $156 a week in Notting Hill, $149 in Travancore, and more than $110 in Docklands.
Savings of $70 or more are also available in Carlton, Southbank and Burwood East.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Tuesday’s rate cut effectively unlocked four additional SA suburbs for unit buyers hoping to get off the rent roundabout.
They are Lightsview, Tonsley, Mawson Lakes and St Clair, adding to New Port, Whyalla Playford, Whyalla, Walkerville and Adelaide city where it was already cheaper to buy than rent.
While it offers limited possibilities for city buyers, Finder’s data suggests that future interest rate cuts would benefit regional investors, potentially unlocking three more towns and one Adelaide suburb. Potential buyer hotspots include Woodville Gardens, Whyalla Jenkins, Tumby Bay and Berri.
Thinking about leaving the rent cycle? There are number of locations across Australia where weekly mortgage repayments are cheaper than renting.
TASMANIA
It is almost impossible to find a Hobart suburb where buying a home is cheaper than renting.
New analysis of houses and units across Tasmania by Finder shows where renters could make the move to ownership and have more bang in their budget — but it won’t be in the south of the state.
Gagebrook was the only southern suburb where it is cheaper to buy a home.
There is more opportunity in the north and northeast, with five areas in the Launceston and North East region either cheaper now or will become so after a 0.25 per cent or 0.5 per cent cut is passed on by lenders. Results were similar on the West Coast.
Unit prices in Launceston’s Newnham are almost identical, with typical rent costing $390 per week and a loan $392. Finder’s modelling showed the mortgage payment would decrease to $382 following a 0.25 per cent rate cut, or $371 with a 0.5 per cent cut.
Houses in Burnie suburb Acton currently have a $1 difference between weekly rent and mortgage, but if a lender passed on a quarter-size or half-size rate cut it would put $10 to $20 per week back into the family coffers.
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