Family homes with three or four bedrooms can still be found at relatively affordable prices in suburbs between 8 and 25 kilometres of a CBD, new data shows, despite Australia's rapidly rising property prices.
New data from PropTrack's August Home Price Index revealed that house prices rose by 0.3% over the month, marking 20 consecutive months of growth. In the past 12 months, prices have increased by 6.4%.
Price growth in capital cities continues to outpace regional areas, a trend that has persisted for the past year and is predominantly driven by house prices. Houses in the capitals typically cost 6.8% more, while houses in the regions cost 5.4% more than in August 2023.
This reflects the strong demand from buyers for houses in metropolitan areas.
With competition increasing between those looking to buy, it is becoming more difficult to secure an affordable property in Australia's cities. However, there are still a number of suburbs that are relatively close to CBDs where houses are competitively priced.
To identify these locations, we examined 'middle-ring' suburbs, which are within the second closest third to their respective CBDs, with the cheapest three and four-bedroom houses.
| Suburb | Capital city | Median sale price | Distance from CBD |
| Smithfield | Sydney | $985,000 | 12-25kms |
| Fairfield | Sydney | $1,035,000 | 12-25kms |
| Granville | Sydney | $1,058,000 | 12-25kms |
| Dallas | Melbourne | $528,000 | 11-24kms |
| Coolaroo | Melbourne | $540,000 | 11-24kms |
| Deanside | Melbourne | $565,000 | 11-24kms |
| Goodna | Brisbane | $506,000 | 10-24kms |
| Collingwood Park | Brisbane | $581,000 | 10-24kms |
| Woodridge | Brisbane | $588,000 | 10-24kms |
| Parafield Gardens | Adelaide | $630,000 | 8-16kms |
| Para Hills | Adelaide | $636,000 | 8-16kms |
| Ingle Farm | Adelaide | $651,000 | 8-16kms |
| Midland | Perth | $460,000 | 10-20kms |
| Balga | Perth | $517,000 | 10-20kms |
| Kenwick | Perth | $521,000 | 10-20kms |
| Rokeby | Hobart | $530,000 | 5-12kms |
| Glenorchy | Hobart | $555,000 | 5-12kms |
| Berriedale | Hobart | $558,000 | 5-12kms |
In Sydney, three bedroom houses were the most affordable in Smithfield, Fairfield and Granville among suburbs located 12-25kms from the city centre. Median sale prices were $985,000, $1,035,000 and $1,058,000 respectively.
Three bedroom houses in Dallas, Coolaroo and Deanside were the most competitively priced middle-ring suburbs in Melbourne.
Goodna, Collingwood Park and Woodridge had the cheapest three bedrooms houses within 10-24kms of the Brisbane CBD. They cost $506,000, $581,000 and $588,000, well below the city's median sale price of $850,000.
In Adelaide, three bedroom houses in Parafields Gardens, Para Hills and Ingle Farm cost between $630,000 and $650,000, which was among the cheapest suburbs located 8-16kms from the CBD.
| Suburb | Capital city | Median sale price | Distance from CBD |
| Smithfield | Sydney | $1,088,000 | 12-25kms |
| Guildford | Sydney | $1,165,000 | 12-25kms |
| Yagoona | Sydney | $1,200,000 | 12-25kms |
| Truganina | Melbourne | $680,000 | 11-24kms |
| Deanside | Melbourne | $690,000 | 11-24kms |
| Hoppers Crossing | Melbourne | $691,000 | 11-24kms |
| Goodna | Brisbane | $602,000 | 10-24kms |
| Boronia Heights | Brisbane | $650,000 | 10-24kms |
| Collingwood Park | Brisbane | $673,000 | 10-24kms |
| Parafield Gardens | Adelaide | $725,000 | 8-16kms |
| Ingle Farm | Adelaide | $740,000 | 8-16kms |
| Valley View | Adelaide | $761,000 | 8-16kms |
| Gosnells | Perth | $600,000 | 10-20kms |
| Kenwick | Perth | $602,000 | 10-20kms |
| Maddington | Perth | $625,000 | 10-20kms |
| Howrah | Hobart | $849,000 | 5-12kms |
| Kingston | Hobart | $863,000 | 5-12kms |
The most affordable four-bedroom houses within 12-25kms of Sydney's CBD were found in the Smithfield, Guildford and Yagoona. They typically sold for $1.1-$1.2 million which was noticeably lower than Sydney's median sale price of $1.4million.
In Melbourne, Truganina, Deanside and Hoppers Crossing ranked highest in affordability for four- bedroom houses located 11-24kms from the city centre. Median prices were $680,000, $690,000 and $691,000 respectively.
Goodna, Boronia Heights and Collingwood Park had the cheapest four-bedroom houses among Brisbane's middle ring suburbs.
In suburbs between 10-20kms from Perth's CBD, Gosnells, Kenwick and Maddington had the most competitively priced four-bedroom houses. They cost between $600,000 and $625,000.
With interest rates fairly stable in recent months and forecast to fall by early next year, we expect buyer confidence to grow even further.
As we approach the busy spring period, we anticipate that prices will continue to rise in response to this heightened level of demand.
