The most affordable and livable suburbs in Australia: 2023

The latest Affordable and Liveable Property Guide (ALPG) from PRD has highlighted a selection of Australian suburbs that are considered not only desirable to live in, but affordable for many households.

Among the top picks mentioned in the guide are Richmond (Melbourne), Glenorchy (Hobart), and Canterbury (Sydney).

PRD Head of Research Dr Asti Mardiasmo said the latest ALPG was unusual in that suburbs from traditionally more expensive cities were overrepresented.

“It was much easier for me to find affordable and liveable suburbs in Sydney and Melbourne, compared to Gold Coast, Hobart and Brisbane,” Dr Mardiasmo told Savings.com.au.

She said that while these smaller cities had lower property prices, Sydney and Melbourne had far more suburbs that met the liveability criteria while remaining relatively inexpensive compared to the state average.

Dr Mardiasmo also said there might be a rare opportunity for first home buyers to snap up a bargain in Australia’s two largest cities.

“There are more suburbs with negative price growth in Sydney and Melbourne than usual, because these capital cities dipped lower than others in the past 12 months due to cash rate hikes, so more chances for first home buyers there,” she told Savings.com.au.

“That’s something I didn’t think I would say to be honest, normally I would say this about Brisbane, Hobart or the Gold Coast.”

Buying a home or looking to refinance? The table below features home loans with some of the lowest interest rates on the market for owner occupiers.

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Lender	Home Loan	Interest Rate	Comparison Rate*	Monthly Repayment	Repayment type	Rate Type	Offset	Redraw	Ongoing Fees	Upfront Fees	LVR	Lump Sum Repayment	Additional Repayments	Split Loan Option	Tags	Features	Link	Compare
loans.com.au	loans.com.au Variable Basic Cashback Home Loan (Principal and Interest) (LVR < 70%)	6.04% p.a.	6.06% p.a.	$2,408	Principal & Interest	Variable			$0	$530	70%				Featured Online ExclusiveUp To $4K Cashback	Immediate cashback upon settlement $2,000 for loans up to $700,000 $4,000 for loans over $700,000	More details	Compare
Unloan	Unloan Variable Rate Home Loan LVR < 80%	5.99% p.a.	5.90% p.a.	$2,396	Principal & Interest	Variable			$0	$0	80%				Featured Apply In Minutes	No application or ongoing fees. Annual rate discount Unlimited redraws & additional repayments. LVR <80% A low-rate variable home loan from a 100% online lender. Backed by the Commonwealth Bank.	More details	Compare
ubank	ubank Neat Variable Home Loan (Principal and Interest) (LVR < 60%)	6.14% p.a.	6.16% p.a.	$2,434	Principal & Interest	Variable			$0	$250	60%				Featured Unlimited Redraws	No annual fees - None! Get fast pre-approval Unlimited additional repayments free of charge Redraw freely - Access your additional payments when you need them Home loan specialists available today	More details	Compare

Selection criteria

PRD chose the top suburbs based on several criteria. To be eligible for selection, suburbs needed to be within 20kms of the city centre (10kms for Hobart), and to have had at least 20 (10 for Hobart) property transactions in the past six months to ensure a large enough sample size of properties.

• Investment potential. While liveability was a bigger priority, PRD also considered the investment viability of each suburb. Suburbs were only considered if the rental yield was above the city average, and vacancy rates were lower.

• Affordability. For each city, a ‘liveability premium’ was established, which was the average percentage difference in median price between suburbs that were considered liveable and the median for the entire city. To be affordable, suburbs needed to be beneath the median price, plus the premium. For example, PRD found there was a 42% premium in Brisbane above the median to reach liveability standards. That means suburbs in Brisbane needed to be no more than 42% more expensive than the city wide median.

• Development. Suburbs needed to have a high total estimated value of future project development for the 1st half of 2023, as well as a higher proportion of commercial and infrastructure projects.

• Liveability. While there were several variables that factored into liveability, all suburbs needed the following:

  • Low crime rates

  • Availability of crucial amenities (schools, public transport, healthcare etc.) within a 5km radius.

  • Unemployment rate on par with or lower than the state average

Affordable and liveable suburbs in Sydney

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PRD said there were 70 suburbs in Sydney that experienced negative growth in the past 12 months. While this means these areas are ineligible for this list, it could also mean it’s a good time to buy property in Australia’s most expensive city. Those looking for a bargain in Sydney might want to act fast though, because there are signs that the market is turning around. The latest CoreLogic Home Value Index found Sydney property prices rose 1.8% in May.

Affordable and liveable suburbs in Melbourne

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PRD found Melbourne to have the most affordable liveable homes in Australia’s east. Home buyers in Melbourne need to add just 13% to the state median price to buy in a highly liveable area. The suburbs selected were all roughly 20kms from the Melbourne CBD, and all have large scale construction in the pipeline for the next few years.

Affordable and liveable suburbs in Brisbane

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In both Brisbane and the Gold Coast, Dr Mardiasmo called it ‘incredibly challenging’ to find suitable suburbs for houses. Crime rates, unemployment rates and a suitably high value of future projects were particular sticking points.

On the other hand, for units Brisbane was the most affordable city for liveability. Buyers can purchase units in liveable areas for as much as a 24% discount compared to the state average, so looking at units might be where those in Queensland can find value.

Affordable and liveable suburbs in Perth

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For houses, Perth was the most affordable capital city for liveability, with a softer property market and a high level of ‘readiness’ of its suburbs. Buyers need to pay just 5% more than the WA state average home loan size for property in a highly liveable suburb 

Affordable and liveable suburbs in Hobart

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While the general consensus is that the property boom in Hobart has been and gone, there were still some attractive spots that PRD identified. Glenorchy was particularly interesting, with rental yields of 4.4% for houses and 5.5% for units, as well as more than $200 million worth of construction projects in the pipeline. The majority of this will be the new redevelopment of the Hobart Showground precinct, which could add considerable value to the area.

Affordable and liveable suburbs in Gold Coast

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While Gold Coast was another region where PRD didn’t identify many liveable and affordable suburbs, there remains plenty of opportunity, particularly for investors. Just 1.1% of the available rental properties on the Gold Coast were vacant in March 2023, which tends to be a reliable indicator of strong rental yields.

Affordable and liveable suburbs in Adelaide

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Units:

For units, Adelaide was the most affordable city. Buyers could benefit from a 35% discount on units in highly liveable areas compared to the SA average. Units in Mawson Lakes are particularly eye catching, with a rental yield in excess of 7% and $150 million worth of construction projects in the pipeline.

Image by Belle Co via Pexels

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