The areas offering a city lifestyle without the big city price tag  

Winning the trifecta in real estate means finding value for price, lifestyle and location. 

Nailing all three can be difficult, particularly where price is concerned. Yet buyers searching for a city lifestyle without the big city price tag can still find their sweet spots in various markets across Australia. 

Here, we look at three affordable locations offering all the benefits of a city lifestyle.

Maddington, Western Australia

Just 20 kilometres south-east of Perth’s CBD and 30 kilometres from the beach, Maddington enjoys great proximity to all that makes life in the west so easy. 

The suburb has its own train station and bus routes and sits on the fringe of the beautiful Korung National Park. Plans for a new town centre by the City of Gosnells are underway, with a draft vision outlining a redevelopment of the train station, new public spaces and urban regeneration initiatives. 

Importantly for buyers, prices in Maddington are very modest, says Paul Glossop, chief executive of Pure Property Investment.

“If you’re looking to get into the market it’s still sub-$400,000 for a good-quality, free-standing established house on a 600-square-metre block,” he says.

“At those prices, it’s [like] a discussion that your parents had with you back in the ’90s.”

Gosford, NSW

This Central Coast city is all about a lifestyle by the water. Situated to the north of Brisbane Water, Gosford is a favourite among boating enthusiasts and beach lovers.

A new resort-style residential development by Alceon Group, Rumbalara Residences, promises to take advantage of all that Gosford offers. Construction has begun on the four buildings that make up the project, which sits on an elevated two-hectare site overlooking Brisbane Water.

Alceon development director Todd Campling says the benefits of Gosford’s location make it similar to the lifestyle available in Sydney’s north-shore suburbs.

“The offering at Rumbalara is very obtainable and that’s why we’re drawing a lot of purchasers from those areas, particularly from the northern side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge,” he says.

“It’s not that far away from their current friend groups and what’s familiar, with the water views and the lifestyle. Here they have the opportunity to downsize and still have money in their pocket afterwards, and that’s something that can’t be achieved in Sydney.”

Rumbalara Residences is just a five-minute drive from the Gosford Marina Sailing Club and the shops and cafes of central Gosford. It’s also close to the surrounding beaches of Terrigal, Copacabana and Avoca. 

Morayfield, Queensland

In the Moreton Bay region on the fringe of Brisbane and the edge of the Sunshine Coast, Morayfield enjoys so much of what makes Queensland such a popular place to live. It’s got the best of urban conveniences amid tropical greenery and a sunny climate. 

The median price of a three-bedroom house there is just $520,000 — well below Brisbane’s median of $805,818.

“It’s one of those classic markets that gives a lot of flexibility to people who are either buying as an owner-occupier or for tenants, because it’s still only 40 to 45 minutes down the Bruce Highway to the Brisbane CBD, but you’re also about the same distance to the centre of the Sunshine Coast and the big hospital precinct that’s now emerging as a big employment hub,” Glossop says.

“And you’re only about 10 to 15 minutes from about two dozen different beaches and also on the cusp of national park access to the west.”

Morayfield is close to the Petrie campus of the University of Sunshine Coast University as well as the suburb of North Lakes, which is home to a thriving business park and a Westfield shopping centre.