Where to buy a home in Sydney or Melbourne on a Brisbane-sized budget

Brisbane’s house prices have long been looked at from afar somewhat enviously. Always the far more affordable option than Sydney and Melbourne, Brisbane has offered relatively better value for money and has been an easier market for young buyers to break into.

This time two years ago, Sydney’s median house price was $1.3 million, and Melbourne’s was edging towards $1 million, sitting at $980,000. Brisbane’s median house price was still less than $630,000.

For some property hopefuls trying to buy in Sydney and Melbourne, the temptation to take their hefty budget and plough it into a Queenslander with wraparound verandahs and an oversized backyard proved too hard to resist. Census data released last year showed that in the five years to 2021, more people moved to the Sunshine State from within Australia than to any other state or territory.

But not everyone can – or indeed, wants – to move to Brisbane, even if the property prices are lower. After all, most other places in Australia are cheaper than Sydney and Melbourne.

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The median price for a house in Brisbane is now just a tick over $800,000, according to Domain data.

That’s more than $200,000 less than Melbourne’s median of $1.032 million and a massive $612,000 lower than the Sydney median of $1.414 million.

But there is still property to be purchased in Australia’s two largest capital cities on a Brisbane-sized budget. It’s all about perspective and compromise.

A budget of about $800,000 in Brisbane might get you an unrenovated character home on 625 square metres of land in a coveted inner-city suburb, but in Melbourne you might get a house but further away from the city centre, or in Sydney, a unit in a prized inner-west postcode.

SOLD - $780,000

152 Days Road, Grange QLD 4051

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SYDNEY

While a Brisbane-sized budget is more manageable than Sydney’s median house price, it’s also important to note a threshold of $800,000 could soon take on further significance if NSW Labor wins the upcoming state election.

Earlier this year, the opposition announced first-home buyers would not pay a cent of stamp duty on properties up to $800,000 if elected to government.

Working with a budget around $800,000, there is a ton of locations where it’s possible to buy a unit. Moreover, many of them are in desirable suburbs close to the CBD.

Ultimo and Rushcutters Bay, both in the city and east region, are just two kilometres from Sydney’s city centre, as is Glebe in the inner west, one of Sydney’s most sought after inner city suburbs.

Gladesville on the lower north shore and just nine kilometres from the CBD, offers two-bedroom units that start in the $600,000s and presents “very good value”, according to Cassidy Real Estate agent Robert Cassidy.

“Gladesville is a waterside suburb that’s easy access to the city, easy access to Parramatta and a very central suburb to Sydney,” he says.

“If someone was looking at spending up to $800,000, Gladesville would be an excellent option, rather than looking multiple kilometres outside of the CBD, which you would have to do to get a house.

“In Gladesville you get to live that Sydney lifestyle and it can be done within that price range.”

Cassidy says units in particular offer exceptional value in Gladesville’s market because the gap between unit prices and house prices is so wide. The median house price in Gladesville is $2.5 million on Domain data.

For Sale $650,000 - $690,000

203/5-11 Meriton Street, Gladesville NSW 2111

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“The housing market in Gladesville really shot forward through COVID,” Cassidy says. “It lifted 25 per cent, whereas the unit market only lifted 4 to 5 per cent. That stretch between units and houses was really dramatic, so now when you look back at it, the units in this area are very good value considering the price of houses and the proximity to the city.

“I think we’ll find, in the next five years or so, that the unit market in this area and surrounding areas like Ryde and Meadowbank, will lift dramatically.”

House-hunting on a Brisbane-sized budget gets a little trickier in Sydney, although it’s not impossible. It just means moving further out from the city centre.

Ingleburn, in the city’s south-west, has a median house price of $770,000 and is 35 kilometres from the CBD. Local Richardson & Wrench agent Peter Jong says the current market conditions have drawn buyers into the suburb, trying to pick the bottom of the market.

“There’s definitely value for money here in Ingleburn and in other suburbs out this way, but if you look at the plans for the CBD of Ingleburn, there’s redevelopment opportunities, zoning changes and they’re talking about eight-level apartment buildings,” he says.

“That says to me that there’s going to be more housing, more people – it’s going to grow.”

He’s selling a three-bedroom home on 442 square metres of land at 13 Ivanhoe Street and asking $720,000 to $740,000.

SOLD - $680,000

13 Ivanhoe Street, Ingleburn NSW 2565

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“Our area seems to do quite well, even when the market is up and down. It’s still affordable and it’s still a good area with a village feel. But we’ve definitely seen investors out here trying to pick the bottom of the market.

“There’s been a lot of investors picking up properties, and they’re locals. They live locally, they love the area, and they’re picking up bigger blocks for a lot cheaper than what they were a couple of years ago. They’re holding them because they know prices will go back up and they’ll make their 20 per cent.

“Buyers appreciate the big backyards out here. Looking forward, there’s still a lot of room for growth out here.”

MELBOURNE

A Brisbane-sized budget goes a lot further in Melbourne because the gap between the two city’s house prices is nowhere near as extreme as the gap between Brisbane and Sydney.

With a budget of around $800,000, buyers can purchase in some of Melbourne’s most sought after postcodes – like Fitzroy and Kew, both close to the CBD and well known for their multimillion-dollar house prices – but only by looking at units.

Melbourne buyers don’t have to go anywhere near as far out as Sydney buyers to find a house around $800,000, though.

In Melbourne, suburbs like Braybrook, Pascoe Vale and Heidelberg West are all within 12 kilometres of the CBD. Andrew Montalto of HockingStuart Reservoir says Heidelberg West is one of those suburbs that still manages to fly under the radar.

“Buyers sometimes miss it or bypass it, in the sense that they’ll jump from Preston to Reservoir and skip Heidelberg,” he says.

“But it’s affordable and you get decent-sized blocks, so there’s potential. There are a lot of changes happening in the suburb, a lot of development, and it’s having a bit of a facelift … it’s a completely different suburb to what it was 20 years ago.”

Montalto is selling a three-bedroom, one-bathroom brick home in a quiet location on a 449-square-metre block, listed for sale for $720,000-$792,000. He says he’s been “really surprised” at the amount of interest he’s had from buyers so far.

SOLD - $784,000

206 Liberty Parade, Heidelberg West VIC 3081

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“We’ve had close to 40 groups go through it over two weeks, which is very good in this market. Most of them are first-home buyers,” he says.

“Definitely what we’re noticing is that buyers are seeing the value in suburbs like this. People are spending money on their homes – even the original concrete homes are getting renovated. Buyers are looking for where they can get value for money and this has plenty of public transport, a nice creek with a bike path and that really nice, calm feeling.”