What you can buy around regional Australia for capital city property prices
Cashing in on city property prices for a larger home in the country or on the coast has long been a key drawcard for many a sea and tree-changer.
But against a backdrop of soaring property prices in many regional areas, capital city budgets may not stretch as far as they once did in some popular coastal and country locations.
Median house prices in dozens of regional council areas are up by more than 20 per cent in a year, Domain data shows, in some instances outstripping the prices seen in their respective capital cities.
“There have been a few [city buyers] ring up thinking they can buy a property for less than half of its worth, and I say I can’t help you,” said Matt Knight – a buyer’s agent and director of Precium – of the NSW south coast market.
Thankfully, most buyers are more clued in by now on the rapid price growth seen in the regions, particularly areas that have seen an influx of demand from tree and sea-changers amid the pandemic. However, many were frustrated by the high prices and low stock levels, with some clients spending a year searching before they engaged his services, Mr Knight said.
For those city slickers considering a sea or tree change, here’s what you can expect to get for capital city prices.
Sydney
With Sydney’s median house price at a record of about $1.41 million, the odds of buying a larger home in the regions at that price point are still pretty good – but don’t let your imagination run too wild.
A three-bedroom semi in Byron Bay, now the state’s most expensive market with a median of $1.585 million, and a four-bedroom original condition house in Ballina in need of a renovation were among recent sales just under the Sydney median.
A three-bedroom townhouse in Jindabyne on a 326-square-metre block in the Snowy Mountains, a four-bedroom house in Orange in the central west, and a three-bedroom house in Kiama on the south coast have all sold in recent months for more than $1.3 million. Median house prices across the three regions jumped between about 25 per cent and 44 per cent.
Mr Knight said buyer demand had gone up another level, to his surprise, during the latest lockdown, with more Sydney buyers willing to purchase sight unseen.
Beachfront and high-end homes were seeing the steepest price hikes, as cashed-up professionals and executives now able to work remotely brought bigger budgets into the market, Mr Knight said. Some in the tech world had been told they would never have to return to working in the office, while other buyers had contracts confirming they could work remotely for a certain time frame.
In other parts of the state, those on a Sydney apartment budget – the median sits at about $786,000 – would still be able to upgrade to the housing market.
Recent weeks have seen a renovated three-bedroom house on a 500-square-metre block in Bathurst, a renovated four-bedroom house in Tamworth on 801 square metres, and a four-bedroom house on almost 1500 square metres in Lismore all sell for less than Sydney’s median unit price.
Melbourne
Melbourne’s median house price sits at a record of about $1.023 million, making it the second most expensive market in the state behind the Surf Coast Shire – covering the likes of Torquay and Lorne – where prices jumped more than 31 per cent of the year to June to a median of $1.2 million.
Buyers have recently paid just short of the Melbourne median for a four-bedroom house on less than 500 square metres in Torquay and a four-bedroom c1900 home on acreage in West Gippsland, and $1.045 million for a four-bedroom period home in Ballarat.
In Rye on the Mornington Peninsula, a three-bedroom house on less than 800 square metres recently sold for $1.025 million, while a one-bedroom, one-bathroom cottage on about 1400 square metres sold for $960,000.
Sheree Hay of Home AU Real Estate said an asking price of $800,000 to $900,000 had become entry-level for Rye. And homes were selling within days of hitting the market due to strong demand, still driven mainly by holiday home buyers from Melbourne.
“It’s really aligned itself with metropolitan prices … some people are paying up to $500,000 over the advertised price … to get somewhere,” Ms Hay said, adding one client had recently paid $900,000 for a house that would have fetched about $600,000 pre-pandemic.
At the unit median of about $572,800, buyers could expect to pick up four-bedroom, two-bathroom houses in towns such as Wodonga, Portland, Sale and Ararat, where such houses have recently sold for between $560,000 and $570,000.
Brisbane
A Brisbane buyer looking to sell up at the city’s record median house price of about $678,000 and head for the coast is likely to have to downsize if looking to the Sunshine Coast or Gold Coast, where medians sit at $825,000 and $792,000. A two-bedroom Mermaid Beach unit recently sold for $670,000, as did a three-bedroom unit at Coolum Beach.
Further afield in the state’s north, a five-bedroom house with views and a pool in the Cairn’s suburbs of Mooroobool sold for $680,000, while a two-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse on a 132-square-metre block in Port Douglas – where prices jumped about 29 per cent in the past year – sold for $660,000.
Ray White Port Douglas sales manager Mark Flinn said out-of-area interest, primarily from Sydney and Melbourne buyers, made up about 70 to 80 per cent of demand, with most looking for a second home in order to split their time between Port Douglas and the southern states.
Though city buyers were getting less for their money than previously – prices in the Douglas Shire are up almost 20 per cent in the past year – the region still represented good value as prices had been way behind for some time and had some significant catch up to do, Mr Flinn said.
Meanwhile, in Ooralea, a southern suburb of Mackay, a three-bedroom house recently sold for $382,500 – less than Brisbane’s median unit price of about $394,000. And a four-bedroom house in the Rockhampton suburb of Frenchville sold for $395,000.
Perth
House prices in Perth are now at their highest level since 2015, after lifting about 12 per cent over the year to a little less than $596,000.
Taking that budget outside the capital, a house hunter could expect to pick up something similar to a four-bedroom house in West Busselton, which recently sold for $574,000, and a four-bedroom house on a bush block in outer Bunbury that sold for $595,000.
Further afield in Moresby, north-east of Geraldton and more than a four-and-a-half-hour drive north of Perth, a four-bedroom house on more than two hectares of land with ocean views recently sold for $600,000.
Meanwhile, up in Broome, where prices jumped more than 33 per cent over the year, a four-bedroom renovated 1960s bungalow on more than a 1200-square-metre block sold for more than $570,000.
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