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Acknowledging housing affordability as an increasingly pressing issue, the network’s chief economist has crunched the numbers to find out where Australians can get the most bang for their buck.
Highlighting that the weighted average Australian median house price increased by 25 per cent to $1,021,710 while median family weekly incomes rose just 5 per cent, PRD chief economist Dr Diaswati Mardiasmo has done a deep dive on Australia’s suburbs to find the “top 10 regional affordable areas 2022”.
Based on five selection criteria (as outlined below), these are the most affordable regions for Australian property purchasers in 2022.
- Whitsunday LGA (Qld)
- Mackay LGA (Qld)
- Toowoomba LGA (Qld)
- Upper Hunter LGA (NSW)
- Wagga Wagga LGA (NSW)
- Griffith City LGA (NSW)
- Northern Grampians LGA (Vic)
- Wodonga City LGA (Vic)
- Greater Bendigo LGA (Vic)
- Central Highlands LGA (Tas)
Dr Mardiasmo has called these locations “roaring regions”, considering them as affordable alternative areas with solid fundamentals for sustainable future growth.
In all of these areas, recorded median house prices remain below $550,000 – a far cry from the weighted average Australian median house price of $1.02 million.
According to the chief economist, regional areas are leading the way when it comes to affordability and liveability, while the Australian dream of property ownership still exists.
She also acknowledged that regional areas became the most attractive option in 2021, with buyers “capitalising on lower median property prices and utilising flexible remote working conditions introduced amidst COVID-19”.
In selecting the top 10 regions for affordability, Dr Mardiasmo used five major pieces of selection criteria, outlined below:
- Affordability – that the local government area (LGA) has a median house price below the calculated maximum affordable property sale price. This is the state average loan, plus 20 per cent.
- Property trends – the LGA considered must have had 20 or more transactions take place in 2020 and 2021 and have witnessed positive median house price growth over those two years.
- Investment – the LGA must have showcased on-par or higher rental yield than its corresponding capital city, as well as an on-par or lower vacancy rate compared to its city.
- Project development – the LGA has a high estimated value of future project development, inclusive of a higher concentration of commercial and infrastructure projects, hence ensuring a positive economic outlook.
- Unemployment rate – the LGA should have an on-par or lower unemployment rate than the state average, as of the September quarter 2021, to ensure there is local job growth.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Grace Ormsby
Grace is a journalist across Momentum property and investment brands. Grace joined Momentum Media in 2018, bringing with her a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) from the University of Newcastle. She’s passionate about delivering easy to digest information and content relevant to her key audiences and stakeholders.
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