With a price guide at just $390,000-$429,000, the three-bedroom house at 3 Kinloch Rd, Melton, could be yours for less upfront than the cost of a new car.
Melbourne first-home buyers are getting their foot on the property ladder with less than $30,000 saved up — less than you’d need to buy a cheap new car.
But it comes as new analysis shows the 20 per cent deposit preferred by most banks is now $172,000 for the city’s typical home, enough to wipe out years of a typical family’s income.
Melton is the city’s best bet for affordability-sensitive buyers, with the possibility that a $485,000 typical home could be purchased for as little as $29,000 including a deposit and transaction fees, if you are eligible for certain government schemes.
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But for the typical $860,000 house that a growing number of Melbourne families would trade up to as a second home, MCG Quantity Surveyors director Mike Mortlock said they faced a “real hurdle” in the form of a whopping $172,000 for a 20 per cent deposit.
Mr Mortlock noted that was almost two years (97.8 weeks) of the $1759 average household’s wage, according to latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data.
It’s also a whopping three times the 32 weeks’ wages needed in 1975, and up from 74 weeks just 10 years ago, highlighting the Victorian capital’s worsening affordability crisis even as certain pockets remain affordable.
Upfront Costs In Melbourne’s Most Affordable Areas
Melton: $485,000 (median) — $57,230 upfront costs
Melton South: $525,000 (median) — $61,950 upfront costs
Kurunjang: $543,500 (median) — $64,130 upfront costs
Dallas: $555,000 (median) — $65,490 upfront costs
Coolaroo: $560,000 (median) $66,080 upfront costs
83 Glenelg St, Coolaroo, is listed for sale at $485,000-$530,000.
3 Risson St, Melton South, is expected to sell for $529,000-$569,000.
Melton West: $560,000 (median) — $66,080 upfront costs
Brookfield: $561,800 (median) — $66,290 upfront costs
Harkness: $575,000 (median) — $67,850 upfront costs
Longwarry: $577,500 (median) — $68,145 upfront costs
Thornhill Park: $580,000 (median) — $68,440 upfront costs
Data tracks median house price, as well as upfront costs required to buy with a 10 per cent deposit as a first-home buyer (with stamp duty discount) requiring lenders mortgage insurance
Source: MCG Quantity Surveyors Home Deposit Multiples report
“Even putting together a 5 per cent deposit in some areas is getting difficult,” Mr Mortlock said.
“It can still be a lot of money, and take an average earner years to save. And it’s been made even harder by the high cost of living. Most people are spending their salaries to cover their living expenses. To start really building up their savings, they would need a big pay rise.”
But mortgage brokers in the city’s most affordable pocket have revealed those willing to go west, and who are able to use the federal government’s First Home Guarantee, can get a $485,000 house in Melton for as little as $29,000 upfront.
37 Berger St, Dallas, has a $528,000-$580,800 asking price.
With a $449,000-$489,000 budget, a four-bedroom house at 113 Gisborne-Melton Rd, Kurunjang, could be yours.
Even without the government’s help, the suburb’s buy in price for a first-home buyer looking at its $485,000 median-priced house is still only about $57,000, according to analysis from MCG.
That covers a $48,500 deposit (10 per cent) and $8730 in lenders mortgage insurance. It does not include the about $800-$2200 that a conveyancer typically costs in Victoria, according to Consumer Affairs.
Melton South was the next most affordable at $61,950, or about $31,000 if the buyer can get one of the 35,000 First Home Guarantee places available nationwide until June 30 next year.
It was followed by Kurunjang at $64,130, or about $32,000 under the government scheme.
Real Estate Institute of Victoria interim chief executive Jacob Caine said the data showed there were still affordable ways for first-home buyers to get a foothold in Melbourne’s property market.
In Thornhill Park a house like 8 Bingham Circuit should cost $529,000-$569,000 — but far less upfront.
MCG Quantity Surveyors’ Mike Mortlock said without help, the upfront costs of buying a home can be a “real hurdle” — and some government programs might make it worse.
“But while these opportunities aren’t as widespread as they once were, for those diligent and dedicated buyers they can still be found,” Mr Caine said.
“But the window of opportunity to secure your first home at a genuinely affordable price point is starting to close. As interest rates begin to have an effect investors from other stares are starting to focus on Melbourne, and more broadly Victoria. Prices at these points and competition levels will start to creep up, then could rapidly increase.”
Melton based mortgage broker John Timms said he was helping buyers with purchases that cost them less than $40,000 and even $30,000 upfront.
On average, Mr Timms said first-home buyers he worked with had about $50,000 saved up, with most being young singles and couples under 30 — though a few have been as old as 50.
“Most of them are buying within a month of getting pre-approval,” he added.
“Melton has a lot of homes in the reach of that first-home buyer market. And they are all fairly similar, whereas in other areas you don’t have 50 houses that all suit your needs.”
14 Vista Drive, Melton, has a $600,000-$650,000 asking price that is far above the local area’s typical offerings – but also well below the wider Melbourne median.
REIV interim chief executive Jacob Caine said the window for getting an affordable Melbourne house was closing.
Ray White Melton director Joe Mavrikos said there had been a steady stream of tenants exiting inner Melbourne suburbs to move to Melton, finding that the repayments of a home there are similar to what it costs to pay rent — or because they are sick of having to move.
“I talk to a lot of the first-home buyers about why they are coming out here, and it’s the value for money,” Mr Mavrikos said.
“In Melton, the dream is still alive for them. They can come here and still have change in their pocket.”
Mr Mortlock warned while government schemes could cut upfront costs, they did come at a price.
After paying a 5 per cent deposit for the typical Melton home, monthly mortgage repayments would be $2668 for the next 30 years, based on today’s 5.68 per cent average variable rate. Bought with a 20 per cent deposit, that figure is just $2257.
19 Eacott St, Longwarry, costs just a fraction of its $540,000-$570,000 asking price upfront.
12 Triandra Drive, Brookfield, shows what you could get for $579,000-$680,000.
Mr Mortlock said first-home buyer incentives, such as the federal shared equity scheme and other state-based programs, would also likely exacerbate the deposit burden by lifting prices.
“Until we start building more, and a lot more, all these schemes do is kick the can down the road,” he said.
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