Family-friendly suburbs that have become more affordable

Everyone’s concept of what constitutes a family-friendly suburb is different. Is it price? Is it access to good schools? Is it safe streets and lots of parks? Or is it just the sheer number of families within it?

Whatever your preference or price point, the silver lining to a property downturn is the swath of family-friendly suburbs that have come down in price over the past year.

For upgrading home owners, the current market presents an opportunity for buyers to get into a suburb they may not have been able to consider this time last year, says Dr Nicola Powell, chief of research and economics at Domain.

“Aside from the lower price, the opportunity in a downturn is that you’ve got more time – it’s a buyer’s market – which allows you to breathe and make considered decisions. It allows you to track the market, take your time,” she says.

“I would say that no matter the market conditions, there’s always an opportunity – but you have to go out and seek that opportunity. It’s utilising that knowledge so you’re across the local market dynamics. Leveraging those nuances within a suburb allows you greater opportunity.”

Are prices rising or falling in your suburb?

Want to know how prices have changed in your area? Select your state, then browse by house or unit. Search by suburb or region to see local prices.

Search prices now

Here are Domain’s picks for family-friendly suburbs that have become cheaper in the past 12 months.

Sydney

While Sydney is awash with suburbs that could be considered family favourites, not all of them have become cheaper in this past year.

House prices in suburbs like Cronulla and Gregory Hills are still up by more than 18 per cent, and Mount Colah and Glenhaven are up more than 14 per cent.

But there are pockets of opportunity for buyers wanting to either get a foothold or upgrade into family areas, where they can pay less now than what they would have a year ago.

Buyers dreaming of getting into Cronulla, which is still getting more expensive, can look at options nearby such as Sylvania, Oyster Bay and Bexley, all of which have become more affordable.

“Some of those surrounding areas that may have already been cheaper in the first place are the ones where prices have fallen,” says Sydney buyer’s agent Lloyd Edge.

“Somewhere like Sylvania, where people get to live basically at the water or near the water, is much cheaper than trying to buy in the eastern suburbs or Cronulla.

SOLD - $1,528,000

26 Venetia Street, Sylvania NSW 2224

4

2

2

View property

“People dream of living somewhere like Cronulla but don’t have multimillion-dollar budgets. As prices have come back in suburbs like Sylvania, we’re now seeing much more interest there.”

He cites Bexley, where prices fell by more than 6 per cent last year, as a “great buy” for the long-term.

“Over the years we’ve seen a lot of growth around Kogarah, Arndale, Rockdale. Interestingly, Bexley has fallen more than those places but it’s not over-inflated with units, so it’s a better buy.

“We’re also seeing with our clients, now that they have the choice to pay a land tax rather than stamp duty, that they can lift their budget enough to get into Bexley because prices have also come down.”

Melbourne

A number of Melbourne’s family favourites have taken a hit to their house prices over the past year, including sought after suburbs like Carnegie, Caulfield, Seddon, Maribyrnong and Flemington.

Melbourne buyer’s agent Cate Bakos says Carnegie’s amenities are trumped only by its value for money.

“What’s really nice about Carnegie is that you still get period homes that are seriously discounted compared to Bentleigh and Brighton … those Edwardian and Victorians homes that everyone loves but at a discount,” she says.

“Carnegie has got fantastic public transport and a lovely main street. Maribyrnong has the river and train. Caulfield has really good schools and it’s like a hub; you can live there and send your kids anywhere, and they’re covered for transport. It also has pretty homes.”

But Bakos says it’s important to understand not every property within these suburbs will sell at a discount. Even in the suburbs where median prices are falling, there are still certain types of properties that are still rising.

SOLD - $1,540,000

6 Grandview Grove, Carnegie VIC 3163

4

2

2

View property

“At the moment our market is segmented. While we’re looking at price falls using median values, if we segment that further into renovated and unrenovated houses, you’ll see the renovated houses are actually still growing in value. We can’t find enough of them,” she says.

“The moral of the story here is that if people want to upgrade or buy in a tougher market, they need to focus on the segment that’s not doing as well – at the moment that’s unrenovated property. It doesn’t have to be a wreck or unliveable – it may just be a ’90s house – but if you’re selling a smaller renovated house and upgrading to a bigger house on more land that’s unrenovated, you’ll do really well. “

Brisbane

It’s slimmer pickings for family-friendly Brisbane suburbs that have fallen in price over the past year.

“Most suburbs that are in demand from the family market are really holding their value despite the downturn, particularly those in good school catchments,” Powell says.

“We’re hearing a lot that houses that don’t need a lot of work – turnkey houses – are highly sought after and helping keep values solid.”

The annual falls have so far been kept to a minimum in Brisbane’s favourite family suburbs and many are still rising. Those that have recorded a loss include West End – revered for its Brisbane State High School catchment zone – and riverfront beauty Hawthorne, which has dropped by 4.6 per cent.

Manly, Brisbane’s eastern suburbs seaside village, has fallen by 1.7 per cent and dropped below the $1.2 million median mark.

OFFERS INVITED.

92 Melville Terrace, Manly QLD 4179

3

2

3

View property

In the western suburbs, Indooroopilly and Graceville, both long-standing family favourites for their proximity to top-rating schools, beautiful parks and public transport, have edged down slightly.

“The inner-western suburbs of Brisbane have always been the most highly sought after for those school catchments,” says Alex Jordan of McGrath Paddington.

“You look at them on the NAPLAN scores – six out of the top 10 are in that region. It has primary, secondary and tertiary education. That’s helping support values because demand is still strong and there’s a lot of buyers.”

Adelaide

Home to Australia’s best-performing property market of 2022, Adelaide has not seen anywhere near the scale of price falls as some other capital cities.

While its annual house price growth closed out the year at 10.2 per cent – as opposed to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra, all of which clocked up negative growth for the year – Adelaide’s housing market has slowed considerably from where it was this time last year.

Premier suburbs like Stirling have edged down in value but only very slightly, by 0.2 per cent.

City-fringe favourite Unley has fallen by 4.4 per cent but the median price is still sitting at just over $1.1 million.

SOLD - $942,300

8 Ash Avenue, Unley SA 5061

2

1

4

View property

Canberra

Canberra’s house prices suffered the steepest annual decline in the city’s history and are now 6.7 per cent below the June 2022 peak. While prices are down by about $79,000, they’re still 41.2 per cent higher than they were before the pandemic property boom.

House prices in popular family suburbs like Crace and Florey are still up by around 25 per cent but the leafy family suburb of Narrabundah dropped by nearly 4 per cent over the past 12 months.

Newer suburbs like Moncrieff and Coombs, both popular with young families, have seen steeper falls of up to 8 per cent. Both now have median house prices that are more than $200,000 less than Canberra’s overall median house price.

SOLD - $1,112,000

19 Crackajack Way, Moncrieff ACT 2914

4

2

2

View property

Perth

The neighbourhood of Shelley, popular with families for its access to excellent schools and proximity to the river, has fallen by 2 per cent over the past year, but it’s median house price is still $865,000.

Trendy South Perth, beloved for inner city location, green spaces and leafy streets, has seen affordability improve by significantly more – its median house price fell by 8.1 per cent – although it is still sitting at $965,000, more than $300,000 above Perth’s overall median.

SOLD - $1,175,000

22A Godbold Close, Shelley WA 6148

4

3

2

View property