Share of cheap properties in decline

The combined capital cities saw low numbers of cheap property, with available houses priced under $400,000 at 13.9 per cent of all stock, a historic low, as well as 25.8 per cent of units, down from 16.2 per cent and 27.1 per cent respectively.

Regional areas, however, saw much better favour in terms of availability, with 49.6 per cent of all house sales and 57.3 per cent of all unit sales prices under $400,000, down from 51.6 per cent and 58 per cent respectively.

Cameron Kusher, CoreLogic research analyst, said that the current trends indicate the softening of the more popular capital cities of Sydney and Melbourne market is not paving the way for an increase for an increase of sales under $400,000.

“However, should it continue for a number of years we may finally see a reversal of the declining trend in sales under $400,000,” he said.

The Property Pulse also explored how many property sales under $400,000 occurred in each state and territory over the last 12 months to June 2018:

Sydney

Known for its unaffordability issues, Sydney saw only 2.5 per cent of houses, a record low, and 5.8 per cent of units being sold for under $400,000, down from 3.1 per cent and 6.7 per cent respectively the year before.

Melbourne

Following in Sydney’s footsteps, Melbourne’s share of houses under $400,000 was also at record lows of 2.7 per cent, down from 9.5 per cent the previous year. Units under $400,000 also declined to 21.5 per cent from 28 per cent the year before.

Brisbane

A weakening in affordable houses was also seen in Brisbane, with the share of houses priced under $400,000 also at record lows of 22.8 per cent, down from 26.1 per cent the year before. Units, however, noticed an increase to 46.8 per cent, up from 45.3 per cent the year before.

Adelaide

Continuing the trend, the share of houses under $400,000 – in Adelaide, it was at record lows of 36.6 per cent, down from 39.8 per cent a year earlier. The share of units was also down at 55.4 per cent from 59.1 per cent the year earlier.

Perth

Finding cheap property in Perth is proving to be a task that has become easier over the last year, as the share of houses priced under $400,000 is up to 26.7 per cent from 23.8 per cent a year earlier. More than half of the unit stock in the Western Australian capital were priced under $400,000 at 51.3 per cent, up from 45.6 per cent.

Hobart

While cheap property can be found easily in the southern-most capital city, the share of both houses and units under $400,000 were at record lows. The share of houses was at 43 per cent, down from 52.7 per cent and units were at 69.5 per cent, down from 78 per cent.

Darwin

Finding houses in Darwin priced under $400,000 is proving more of a challenge, with the share of cheap houses falling to 25.4 per cent, down from 29.6 per cent. The share of units priced under $400,000 was at 64.3 per cent up from 40.9 per cent.

Canberra

In Australia’s capital city, the share of houses priced under $400,000 was at 2.4 per cent, down from 4.4 per cent the year earlier and is at historically low levels. The share of units was also down to 33.9 per cent from last year’s 36.3 per cent.