Blacktown’s suburbs have achieved a clean sweep of the top five most affordable suburbs to buy a house in Sydney, ‘only’ 40 kilometres from the Sydney CBD.
The research, by property data analyst rpdata found Blacktown’s suburbs Willmot, Tregear, Lethbridge Park, Whalan and Blackett topped Sydney’s housing affordability, with median prices from $219,500 in top placed Willmot, to $230,000 in Blackett.
A combination of a lack of proximity to the Sydney CBD (50 minutes by train, similar travel times by car outside of peak-hour) are seen as contributing factors in the housing affordability in the area.
The area is predominantly composed of freestanding homes (75 percent, predominantly occupied by couples with children (48 percent), persons living in higher density housing near the Blacktown CBD are frequently single or couples who commute to the CBD via train. The median family income of $1080 per week was a little lower than average. Surprisingly, the median housing loan repayment of $1588 per month was a bit higher than the national average despite the low median house prices (2008 Census).
House prices in the five suburbs topping the affordability index in Sydney have increased in price at about trend for the last year at just under 10 percent.
Nationally suburbs of Hobart fared best, with median house prices as low as $153,000 in Gagebrook and $155,000 in Clarendon Vale. Adelaide was next best with the lowest median house prices occurring in Elizabeth South and Smithfield Plains at $200,000.
Darwin had the most expensive suburbs in the survey, with $392,000 required to buy an average property in the suburb of Moulden. With increased demand for housing stock attributed to the minerals boom and mining exports in the top end.
