Where you can still buy a house within 10km of a CBD for less than $1 million

Property prices are well into recovery nationwide, but it’s still possible to find a house close enough to a city centre without breaking the bank.

The latest Domain House Price Report has revealed 127 suburbs with a median house price under $1 million within 10 kilometres of a CBD. This includes all major capital cities, excluding Sydney.

The most affordable is Berrimah in Darwin, with a median house price of $281,750, and just nine kilometres from the CBD, followed by Osborne Park in Perth, six kilometres away with a median of $381,000.

“You’d definitely get a lot more bang for your buck [in Osborne Park],” says Perth real estate agent Giovanni Notte of William Porteous Properties International.

“It’s a great little spot to be, and it is achievable in terms of pricing, especially in today’s day and age not being able to buy a lot of things for a million dollars that are of substance.” 

Notte says that, with a budget of less than $1 million, it’s easier to find a free-standing house with a decent land size in Perth’s CBD compared to other capital cities. 

SOLD - $835,000

245 Albert Street, Osborne Park WA 6017

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Melbourne also has a handful of suburbs where houses under $1 million are attainable, with Maidstone (median price $817,500), West Footscray ($891,000), Footscray ($900,000) and Brunswick West ($950,000) all sitting less than 10 kilometres from the CBD.

Agent Jason Allen of Barry Plan Yarraville says first-time buyers are flocking to Maidstone because it offers lovely family homes with easy access to the city centre.

“You’ve got a great family neighbourhood,” he says. “You’ve got a lot of young families buying into the area because you’ve got some good schooling.”

SOLD - $960,000

17 Powell Crescent, Maidstone VIC 3012

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The area’s typical house is a two to three-bedroom home with a good block of land and potential for renovating, Allen says, giving the example of a three-bedroom concrete home on 604 square metres of land at 17 Powell Crescent.

“It’s quite nice with the nice setting, and it has future development potential,” he says. “It also does have plans and permits for three dwellings.” 

The most affordable suburbs within 10 kilometres of Adelaide’s CBD include St Clair, with a median house price of $576,000, followed by Kilburn, at $615,000 and Ascot Park at $623,000.

First-home buyers are taking advantage of the affordable prices in St Clair, which sits about 8.7 kilometres from the city centre, says Sebastian Scriva of Ray White Flinders Park.

He says 90 per cent of current purchasers are first-home buyers taking advantage of the low prices.

SOLD - $500,000

17 Tulloch Drive, St Clair SA 5011

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“It’s newish sort of homes,” Scriva says. “It is close to Coles. There are a lot of little shops there and a shopping centre. Transport is five minutes away from everything.

“There are a lot of two-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouses in a community title. Occasionally, you’d come across a property with three bedrooms on its own, but they are very rare.”

With Canberra house prices bouncing back into recovery, it’s not impossible to find a house under $1 million close to the city centre. Evatt (median price $840,000), Palmerston ($933,000), Weston ($967,5000) and Kaleen ($990,000) are all less than 10 kilometres away. 

SOLD - $752,000

13 Slater Place, Evatt ACT 2617

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