Coominya in Queensland is the cheapest postcode in Australia by square metre
Affordability can be assessed in different ways, and when measured by price per square metre, a Queensland town provides the best bang for buck in Australia.
A list of the top ten cheapest suburbs in the nation – by price per square metre – is dominated by Queensland postcodes. Of the top ten, only Western Australia (seventh, with Oakford) and South Australia (eighth, with Lewiston) managed to break in. The other nine comprise five Queensland postcodes and three from the Northern Territory, new Domain figures reveal.
With a per-square-meter price of only $27, the number one postcode for affordable buying in Coominya, about 80km west of Brisbane, Domain’s latest Price Per SQM Report 2024 shows.
In the town, blocks span 20,160 square metres, and the median house price is $544,320.
All of the top ten have square meterage prices of under $100.
The general trend across the national, Domain found, is that square metre prices are going up – as do sale prices of properties – but floorplans and block dimensions are getting smaller.
That is shaped by growing density in capital cities, as more duplexes, townhouses and apartments are built. This is turn helps to free flow supply and stem increasing prices.
Top 10 most affordable suburbs by sqm
| Coominya, QLD | 20,160 | $544,320 | $27 | – |
| Virginia, NT | 20,000 | $640,000 | $33 | – |
| Humpty Doo, NT | 20,000 | $680,000 | $34 | 11.80% |
| North MacLean, QLD | 20,700 | $786,600 | $38 | -19.00% |
| Howard Springs, NT | 20,000 | $820,000 | $41 | -9.90% |
| Oakford, WA | 20,093 | $1,145,301 | $57 | -0.50% |
| Lewiston, SA | 10,000 | $730,000 | $73 | 9.70% |
| Chambers Flat, QLD | 20,020 | $1,481,480 | $74 | -20.80% |
| Logan Village, QLD | 10,680 | $961,200 | $90 | 2.40% |
| Cedar Vale, QLD | 8,500 | $841,500 | $99 | -22.90% |
| Source: Domain | ||||
Density has already prevented house prices for being higher than they currently are, the author of Domain’s report, Dr Nicola Powell, says.
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Second in the top ten is Virginia in the Northern Territory – a postcode which is largely rural but gaining popularity as a residential zone. There, a house hunter will find a median of $640,000, and a per-square-metre price of $33.
Just shy of those figures is Humpty Doo, the third-cheapest suburb, and also in the NT. The median in the town, 40km south of Darwin, is $680,000, or $34 per square metre.
This is a near 12 per cent price increase, speaking to the area’s profile and drawcards, known to most as a stop on the way from Darwin to Kakadu National Park. Tourism is a major economic factor for folks living in Humpty Doo.
Both NT towns have block sizes of 20,000 square metres.
North MacLean in Queensland ranks fourth, with a median house price of $786,600 and a per square metre value of $38. North MacLean is south of Brisbane, in the City of Logan. It has become more affordable, with prices inching back by 19 per cent over one year.
The top five is completed by Howard Springs in the NT. The postcode is 35km from Darwin and visitors to the Top End make it a destination for it beautiful nature park.
Sydney is unsurprisingly the most expensive capital city per square metre, at $2590, but Melbourne is not far behind, just shy of $1900.
Dr Powell, Domain’s chief of economics and research, says the decline in land size noted in the report is down to increased urban density, and this is “essential for preserving and improving” housing affordability for more Australians.
Cities ranked from highest price per sqm to lowest
| Sydney | $1,458,170 | 563 | $2,590 | 5.10% | 49.50% |
| Melbourne | $981,492 | 534 | $1,838 | 0.80% | 32.80% |
| Canberra | $1,103,355 | 743 | $1,485 | -2.00% | 48.30% |
| Perth | $676,800 | 480 | $1,410 | 14.00% | 40.10% |
| Brisbane | $819,351 | 611 | $1,341 | 7.50% | 58.10% |
| Adelaide | $768,528 | 593 | $1,296 | 9.60% | 57.10% |
| Hobart | $695,304 | 648 | $1,073 | -2.70% | 59.10% |
| Darwin | $571,024 | 802 | $712 | -2.30% | 21.50% |
| Source: Domain | |||||
“Without the shift towards greater density and smaller land sizes over the past two decades, house prices would be vastly higher than they are today – higher by 44 per cent in Perth, 16 per cent in Adelaide, and 14 per cent in Melbourne,” she says.
Dr Powell says the persistent trend of increased urban density is propelled by demand from buyers seeking homes in the areas they would have been able to afford 20 years ago, but now they have to buy a smaller dwelling in order to get into that desired location.
“The shrinking of land actually does wonders for affordability, because without this trend of shrinking land size, buyers would be spending much more for a house today than they would be otherwise,” she says.
“It goes some way to addressing affordability. When you look at some of our cities, Perth has seen the most dramatic shrinking of land size over the past 20 years and had it not seen land sizes shrink, it would be $300,000 higher in terms of the median house price today than it otherwise would be.”
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