The suburbs where you can buy a house with weekly mortgage repayments less than $250

The pandemic has presented many with the opportunity to leave behind expensive cities and costly mortgages as working from home becomes the norm.

There are plenty of regional towns where the cost of living is significantly less and mortgages are a fraction of the price of their metropolitan counterparts. So where can you go?

There are dozens of postcodes around the country where you can buy for less than $300,000, leaving you with a weekly repayment of $250 or less, according to Domain Home Loans repayment calculator. All calculations are based on a 20 per cent deposit and 2.9 per cent interest rate.

NSW

The median house price in North Albury is $250,000, according to Domain data, leaving buyers with a weekly mortgage repayment of $192.

The suburb is part of the larger border town of Albury in the Riverina region, 460 kilometres south-west of Sydney.

PJ Murphy Real Estate’s James Seymour said locals priced out of Albury and city slickers were drawn to the area.

SOLD - $617,000

1 Carbine Court, West Albury NSW 2640

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“The main industry in the region is health – it used to be manufacturing – and education is the next. Also the Australian Tax Office is in Albury. That’s a big employer,” Mr Seymour said.

He said buyer inquiries from Sydney and Melbourne increased from 10 per cent to 40 per cent since the pandemic hit.

Meanwhile up in the state’s north-west, buyers can purchase a house in South Tamworth for a median price of $256,250, leaving them with a weekly repayment of $193.

The suburb is part of Tamworth, the country music capital of Australia and a five-hour drive from Sydney.

Victoria

About 300 kilometres west of Melbourne, buyers can expect to pay a median house price of $285,000 in Horsham, costing them a weekly repayment of $219.

Coller Rathgeber Property Group selling agent Tim Coller said the region’s climate was a major drawcard.

“Effectively we get cool evenings but the days are very warm and very dry. Certainly not as extreme as the weather of the south,” Mr Coller said.

SOLD - $287,500

7 Mathoura Street, Horsham VIC 3400

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He said natural resources including the Grampians, Little Desert National Park and the huge number of lakes around the area were selling points for many.

“It’s a real mecca for people who love the outdoors and want to get outside … the driver at the moment is the ability to work remotely. You can enjoy all those things and essentially work remotely.”

He said he saw a “massive inquiry boost” from Melbourne investors, looking at Horsham due to its low vacancy rate.

Buyers can find themselves paying even less than that in Mildura where the weekly repayment is $173 with a median house price of $225,000. While it is in Victoria, the country town is within closer driving distance to Adelaide, taking about four and a half hours.

South Australia

Adelaide residents will be able to lock in cheaper mortgages without travelling as far afield as other states.

The median house price in Elizabeth Park, a northern suburb in the city, will cost buyers just $216,000 or $184 in weekly repayments.

LJ Hooker Greenwith selling agent Bruno Caporella said owner-occupiers and investors were interested in the suburb.

SOLD - $239,000

63 Yorktown Road, Elizabeth Park SA 5113

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“At the moment the market is pretty tight. Elizabeth Park is an area where rental returns are really good but there’s still affordable homes where you can buy a decent block of land,” Mr Caporella said.

He said it was a good location with plenty of amenities within walking distance including parks and a shopping centre.

Further north-east, the country town of Renmark will see buyers pay $206 a week on a house with a median house price of $267,500.

Western Australia

For resources workers, the suburb of Newman in the mining region of the Pilbara would see home owners repaying $184 a week on their mortgage with median house prices at $240,000.

Meanwhile, the coastal town of Geraldton would set back buyers a $201 a week for houses, which have a median price of $261,000.

Tasmania

The suburb of George Town, on the eastern bank of the Tamar River north of Launceston, is one of the few areas buyers can find their weekly repayments below $250.

The median house price is $207,500, seeing home owners repaying $160 a week.

SOLD - $213,500

115 Agnes Street, George Town TAS 7253

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