Where are the most affordable suburbs to buy a house or apartment in Canberra?

Canberra’s property market has seen hot competition in recent weeks, with strong attendance at open homes and several bidders fighting it out at auction – but there are still affordable suburbs if you know where to look.

The capital’s median house price is $788,621 and the median unit price is $455,537, according to the Domain House Price Report for the December quarter.

Buyers have a chance to get into the market for less if they look to the cheapest suburbs in Canberra, clustered in the Tuggeranong, Gungahlin and Belconnen regions.

Banks in the Tuggeranong region had the lowest median house price at $512,250, followed by Ngunnawal in Gungahlin at $520,000. 

Holt in Belconnen and Gordon in Tuggeranong each recorded a median house price of $535,000 and Macgregor in Belconnen came in at $540,000.

Agent Lauren Laing of Independent Tuggeranong said the Tuggeranong region offered great value for money.

“Over the past few years, I’ve noticed more first-home buyers purchase in the Lanyon area because of that low price point,” she said.

“If you look at Gungahlin, even though there are newer homes, the blocks are a lot smaller. But in the Lanyon area or anywhere in Tuggeranong, the block sizes are larger and that’s what people are after.”

Laing said buyers were interested in purchasing older homes and adding their own touch, which was on offer in the Tuggeranong region.

“People used to think quite low of Banks and said it was North Cooma … but it isn’t that far from town centres any more and people are happy to drive that additional five minutes to get something cheaper,” she said.

She expects the Tuggeranong region’s median house price will continue to rise over the next few years, as first-home buyers take advantage of the lower price points.

In the unit market, the five most affordable suburbs comprised two suburbs in Gungahlin and one each in Belconnen, Woden Valley and the Inner North.

“Units are quite attractive for investors and, in particular, first-home buyers,” said Luke McAuliffe of Peter Blackshaw Gungahlin.

“First-buyers would be able to crack into the market with a unit and get their foot into the door and eventually, that could be a stepping stone for them to move into something larger if they want.”

The suburb with the lowest median unit price was Harrison in Gungahlin at $335,000, the data showed.

The second-lowest median unit price was in Bruce in Belconnen at $350,250. This was followed by Phillip in Woden Valley at $352,000 and Watson in the Inner North at $356,000.

Franklin in Gungahlin rounded the top five with a median unit price of $359,000. 

McAuliffe noted that the Gungahlin region is highly sought-after because of its proximity to amenities and public transport including the new light rail.

“It’s an ever-expanding region now … with a multicultural shopping area, good schooling and a cinema that is set to come up soon,” he said.

The capital recorded a high preliminary auction clearance rate of 90 per cent from 41 scheduled auctions on Saturday. This was on the back of the previous weekend’s clearance rate of 83 per cent from 51 scheduled auctions.

Laing said the strong clearance rates was likely to continue throughout the year as more people looked to sell their homes and as first-home buyers took advantage of the low interest rates and the ACT government’s stamp duty changes.

Median house prices are derived from suburbs which have had more than 50 sales.