The Canberra suburbs where it takes the quickest to save for a first-home buyer deposit

First-home buyers looking to get their feet on the property ladder in the shortest time possible will find themselves hunting for a home in Canberra’s outer suburbs, new data shows.

A new analysis from the Domain First-Home Buyer Report shows a handful of suburbs in the Capital’s furthest regions of Tuggeranong and Gungahlin are where first-home buyers are best placed to enter the market the fastest.

The data looks at houses in suburbs with at least 50 sales over the past 12 months.

The research assumes a couple on an average income in their respective city, aged between 25 and 35, can save 20 per cent of their pay in a standard online savings account. This doesn’t take into account any transactional costs incurred in buying property.

Entry-level homes are based on the 25th percentile or the cheapest quarter of homes for sale.

According to the report, Ngunnawal, Banks and Gordon are the quickest suburbs to save a 20 per cent deposit for an entry priced house, although it would still take a couple 56 months.

Eliana Rojas-Terry of The Property Collective said these suburbs were often a hub for first-home buyers because of their affordability.

“For the past seven to eight years, these suburbs in Gungahlin, and especially in Tuggeranong, have been a hotspot for first-home buyers because they offer the best value for money,” she said.

However, despite these areas being the quickest suburbs to save for a house deposit, it takes much longer than in Sydney and Melbourne suburbs, where the quickest time to save the same deposit in greater Sydney is 41 months, and in Melbourne is 44 months.

“That comparison to Sydney and Melbourne highlights the challenge first-home buyers have in Canberra and the struggle they’ll have when trying to break into the Canberra housing market,” Domain senior research analyst Nicola Powell said.

“It also highlights why we have seen a stream of first-home buyers go across the border to areas such as Queanbeyan because it’s much more affordable and the time to save a lump-sum deposit is much faster.”

James Carter of Carter and Co Agents said first-home buyers hoping to get onto the property ladder could do it sooner rather than later with just a five per cent deposit.

“It’s important for first-home buyers to be aware of the incentives available to them because it will cut the time of saving by a lot,” he said.

First-home buyers will likely be pushed to make an apartment purchase or townhouse purchase in the meantime, Dr Powell said.

“It’s all about a diversity of housing and I think property buying would most likely be about compromise on things such as bedroom number and location,” she said.

“While units do offer that quick market entry, the property leap to a house becomes the next hurdle, so that’s when townhouses, a hybrid between a unit and a house, come in.”

A few years ago, buyers were reluctant to purchase townhouses, opting for standalone houses. However, with house prices reaching record levels, townhouses have become more preferable, Ms Rojas-Terry said.

“I’d really have to convince people to go and have a look at townhouses before, but nowadays, once you list [them], buyers are sending in inquiries straight away,” she said.

“I recently listed a townhouse in Calwell and had 15 inquiries, mostly from first-home buyers, within 24 hours because it was within that affordable price range of about $575,000.

“People can’t afford a house so, for the time being, they’re purchasing a townhouse because you still get a bit of land and more room. It’s the next best thing for buyers and, if not, they’ll probably be saving for a very long time.”