More affordable regional towns outside of Canberra luring first-home buyers

Median house prices have tapered off in regional suburbs surrounding Canberra, but over the past five years, most of these areas actually recorded phenomenal growth.

Sales data from the latest Domain House Price Report shows the median price for houses in the Snowy Monaro district increased by a mammoth 61.4 per cent over the five years to December 2023, but only a more modest growth of 1 per cent in the past year.

Its median house price is now $575,000, making it one of the more affordable options near the ACT.

Houses in Queanbeyan performed better than those in Canberra towards the end of 2023, rising by 0.6 per cent to record a median price of $835,000 after falling by 9.4 per cent over the year.

The area experienced strong growth of 39.2 per cent in the five years to December.

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Belle Property’s Aaron Papahatzis said the Queanbeyan market had slowed down in the first half of 2022 with increased interest rates and uncertainty, but since spring last year there has been a rise in activity, particularly from first-home buyers.

Papahatzis noted the agency was seeing more buyers than there were properties for sale.

“Higher-end lifestyle properties were selling well but taking a little longer,” he added.

In the Goulburn region, median house prices fell by 2.0 per cent over 2023, with a quarterly change of -0.8 per cent in December.

Houses there have recorded significant growth over the past five years, rising by 44.2 per cent from $430,000 to a median of $620,000 by the end of last year.

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