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As house prices continue to skyrocket and government schemes expire, young workers with a tight budget are looking for new options to break into the property market.
First home buyers in Sydney and Melbourne face the dilemma of being pushed to the suburbs if they want to purchase a house, or they have to make do with a unit if they prefer to live in a city more accessible to their workplace.
Commenting on the limited options available to young home buyers, Well Home Loans chief executive Scott Spencer said this target group is left “having to choose between buying an inner-ring or middle-ring unit – which might not suit someone who is planning to start a family – or buying a house on the city fringes – which can be hard if you have to commute to the CBD every day.”
To address this dilemma, Well Home Loans has commissioned research firm Suburbtrends to look at fresh options that could help first home buyers hop onto the property ladder.
According to the study, first-time home buyers in Sydney and Melbourne with a budget of $500,000 to $800,000 could be better off renting units in appealing suburbs and buying high-growth investment houses in regional areas or interstate through “rentvesting”.
Explaining what rentvesting means, Mr Spencer said it’s a strategy where “buyers rent a unit in their dream suburb and buy a house for investment purposes in a cheaper market with long-term growth potential”.
Mr Spencer has noted that the objective is to get your foot on the property ladder while living in a suburb that meets your needs and wants.
“At some point in the future, you might be able to use the equity from your investment property to buy the house you always wanted in Sydney or Melbourne,” he explained.
To filter the list, researchers picked out suburbs where there is downward pressure on weekly rents and house prices for locations identified as “better to rent than buy”.
The process was done using these data points:
Furthermore, many more apartments are likely to be built in these areas in the coming years, putting further downward pressure on rentals and prices.
For suburbs identified as “locations to consider buying a house”, researchers focused on these data points:
Additionally, in the coming years, it is unlikely that a considerable number of new residences will be developed in these suburbs. Therefore, increased demand would result from a lack of supply, putting increasing pressure on rents and prices.
Finally, when comparing unit markets where it is preferable to rent against house markets where it may be better to buy, researchers looked at the unit markets that have double the inventory as the home markets.
When it comes to rentvesting, Mr Spencer concluded with a reminder to home buyers to act prudently since the decision of where to live and buy is both an emotional and financial decision.
“So first home buyers should weigh up both those factors when deciding whether to follow the traditional owner-occupier path or choose the increasingly popular rentvesting option,” he concluded.
Here are the results of the study listing the top 30 suburbs where investors can rent in the city and buy a house in a high-growth area grouped according to price points:
$500k to $600k budget
10 NSW and Victoria suburbs where it’s better to rent a unit than buy a house
State |
Suburb |
Median sale price for units |
Vacancy rate for units |
Median weekly rent for units |
NSW |
$560,000 |
5.4% |
$420 |
|
NSW |
AuburnAuburn, SA Auburn, NSW |
$550,000 |
2.7% |
$400 |
Vic |
$522,000 |
5.2% |
$390 |
|
Vic |
$598,000 |
4.3% |
$430 |
|
Vic |
$595,000 |
4.0% |
$380 |
|
Vic |
$545,000 |
3.8% |
$380 |
|
Vic |
$580,000 |
3.6% |
$395 |
|
Vic |
$588,000 |
3.5% |
$420 |
|
Vic |
AbbotsfordAbbotsford, VIC Abbotsford, NSW |
$560,000 |
3.0% |
$400 |
Vic |
BrunswickBrunswick, WA Brunswick, VIC |
$595,000 |
2.5% |
$400 |
10 suburbs where houses are in the same price range as NSW and Victoria units for rentvesting
State |
Suburb |
Median sale price for units |
Vacancy rate for units |
Median weekly rent for units |
WA |
$506,000 |
0.0%* |
5.7% |
|
Qld |
$585,000 |
0.5% |
4.4% |
|
Tas |
$561,000 |
0.9% |
4.4% |
|
Tas |
MorningtonMornington, VIC Mornington, QLD Mornington, TAS |
$571,000 |
1.0% |
4.3% |
Tas |
$595,000 |
0.0%* |
4.1% |
|
Tas |
BrightonBrighton, SA Brighton, VIC Brighton, TAS Brighton, QLD |
$580,000 |
0.6% |
4.0% |
NSW |
$529,750 |
0.7% |
4.0% |
|
NSW |
$595,000 |
1.1% |
4.0% |
|
Qld |
Kippa-Ring |
$580,000 |
0.4% |
3.9% |
Tas |
$585,000 |
0.0%* |
3.8% |
NOTE: *When a suburb has a vacancy rate of 0 per cent, that doesn’t mean the suburb literally has no vacant rental properties. Rental properties are regarded as “officially” vacant when they’ve been on the market for 21 days or more. When a suburb has a vacancy rate of 0 per cent, it means all rental properties are being filled in less than 21 days of being listed for rent.
$600k to $700k budget
10 NSW and Victoria suburbs where it’s better to rent a unit than buy a house
State |
Suburb |
Median sale price for units |
Vacancy rate for units |
Median weekly rent for units |
NSW |
$646,033 |
4.8% |
$420 |
|
NSW |
CanterburyCanterbury, NSW Canterbury, VIC |
$680,000 |
2.7% |
$450 |
NSW |
$679,000 |
1.6% |
$460 |
|
Vic |
$660,000 |
6.2% |
$390 |
|
Vic |
$648,000 |
5.6% |
$390 |
|
Vic |
WilliamstownWilliamstown, SA Williamstown, VIC |
$690,000 |
3.8% |
$400 |
Vic |
$660,500 |
3.6% |
$430 |
|
Vic |
$666,000 |
3.6% |
$410 |
|
Vic |
Glen IrisGlen Iris, VIC Glen Iris, WA |
$622,500 |
3.3% |
$400 |
Vic |
ArmadaleArmadale, WA Armadale, VIC |
$637,000 |
3.2% |
$420 |
10 suburbs where houses are in the same price range as NSW and Victoria units for rentvesting
State |
Suburb |
Median sale price for houses |
Vacancy rate for houses |
Median yield price for houses |
Qld |
$660,000 |
0.3% |
4.3% |
|
Tas |
$609,000 |
0.0%* |
4.3% |
|
Qld |
$672,500 |
0.7% |
4.3% |
|
Qld |
$677,000 |
0.9% |
4.2% |
|
Qld |
$630,000 |
0.0%* |
4.1% |
|
Tas |
$642,000 |
0.0%* |
4.0% |
|
NSW |
$650,000 |
0.8% |
3.9% |
|
NSW |
$625,000 |
0.7% |
3.9% |
|
Qld |
$600,000 |
0.2% |
3.9% |
|
Tas |
$600,000 |
0.0%* |
3.9% |
NOTE: *When a suburb has a vacancy rate of 0 per cent, that doesn’t mean the suburb literally has no vacant rental properties. Rental properties are regarded as “officially” vacant when they’ve been on the market for 21 days or more. When a suburb has a vacancy rate of 0 per cent, it means all rental properties are being filled in less than 21 days of being listed for rent.
$700k to $800k budget
6 NSW and Victoria suburbs where it’s better to rent a unit than buy a house
State |
Suburb |
Median sale price for units |
Vacancy rate for units |
Median weekly rent for units |
NSW |
$725,000 |
3.7% |
$460 |
|
NSW |
$760,000 |
3.6% |
$480 |
|
Vic |
$710,000 |
5.0% |
$398 |
|
Vic |
$720,000 |
4.1% |
$360 |
|
Vic |
$750,000 |
3.9% |
$410 |
|
Vic |
$765,000 |
3.8% |
$395 |
10 suburbs where houses are in the same price range as NSW and Victoria units for rentvesting
State |
Suburb |
Median sale price for houses |
Vacancy rate for houses |
Median weekly rent for houses |
Qld |
$787,000 |
0.3% |
4.4% |
|
Qld |
$770,000 |
0.1% |
4.3% |
|
Qld |
$780,000 |
0.2% |
4.1% |
|
Qld |
$794,000 |
0.0%* |
4.1% |
|
Qld |
NerangNerang, QLD Nerang, QLD |
$705,000 |
0.1% |
4.1% |
Qld |
Pacific PinesPacific Pines, QLD Pacific Pines, QLD |
$775,000 |
0.3% |
4.0% |
Qld |
Bli BliBli Bli, QLD Bli Bli, QLD |
$769,000 |
1.0% |
4.0% |
Tas |
$725,000 |
0.0%* |
3.9% |
|
NSW |
$755,000 |
0.0%* |
3.9% |
|
Qld |
Sippy DownsSippy Downs, QLD Sippy Downs, QLD |
$770,000 |
0.4% |
3.9% |
NOTE: *When a suburb has a vacancy rate of 0 per cent, that doesn’t mean the suburb literally has no vacant rental properties. Rental properties are regarded as “officially” vacant when they’ve been on the market for 21 days or more. When a suburb has a vacancy rate of 0 per cent, it means all rental properties are being filled in less than 21 days of being listed for rent.
Property refers to either a tangible or intangible item that an individual or business has legal rights or ownership of, such as houses, cars, stocks or bond certificates.