Hidden Gems: Find Affordable Pockets in Expensive Suburbs
Even within expensive suburbs, a few streets can make a world of difference in price. While location is king in real estate, you don't always have to pay top dollar to live in a desirable area. Here's how to use a tool to find hidden pockets of affordability within even the priciest neighbourhoods.
While median house prices can give a general idea of affordability in a suburb, especially for expensive suburbs, they don't tell the whole story.
Prices within a single area can vary widely. Fortunately, there's an easy online tool that can help you find hidden pockets of affordability even within those pricier neighborhoods.
New interactive price tool
PropTrack has developed an interactive property price tool that reveals the median values across different parts of each suburb.
The price differences can be surprising.
For example in Beecroft, on Sydney’s leafy north shore, the median house price is about $2.4 million.
But as PropTrack’s price tool shows, in certain parts of Beecroft, the median rises to more than $2.8 million.
Yet, several streets away, that figure is closer to $2.2 million.
There is a reason for the $600,000 difference.
The more affordable parts of the neighbourhood lie adjacent to the M2 Hills Motorway.
It’s a similar story in Melbourne’s popular inner suburb of Fitzroy North.
Known for its character-filled terrace houses, Fitzroy North has a median house value of $1.6 million.
But if you want to live near Edinburgh Gardens – the suburb’s attractive parkland – be prepared to pay closer to $3 million.
In Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, the trendy James Street Market side of James Street has a median house price of $3 million, whereas across the road towards Brunswick Street there’s a median house price of under $1.9 million.
These price differences are not unusual.
According to a PropTrack analysis, home buyers can typically save around $365,000 by buying in the more affordable areas of a suburb.
In some neighbourhoods though the price gap becomes more of a chasm.
In the Perth suburb of Subiaco, for instance, several pockets of homes have median values topping $2 million.
Head just around the corner to Subiaco Oval and the surrounding homes are priced closer to $840,000.
What to watch with bargain buys
By this stage you’ve probably noticed a trend.
Nearby features can have a real impact – good and bad – on surrounding property values.
Access to the beach, great views or a local park can push property values higher.
On the other hand, homes bordering a 6-lane highway or nearby industrial estate can offer bargain buying – as long as you’re prepared to live with whatever is keeping the price lower.
And then there may be not-so-obvious factors – such as flood zones or upcoming changes to council zoning – so it’s worth doing your research.
After all, there’s a lot you can do to renovate a home, but you can’t change the location.
Seizing opportunities
That said, pricing differences within suburbs can offer opportunities to save.
A single street can be all that separates an expensive home from its more affordable neighbour.
Buying in the cheaper neighbourhood lets you enjoy all the amenities of the more expensive postcode, without the higher price tag.
It’s also worth keeping tabs on any planned local developments that could have the potential to transform today’s ugly duckling pocket into tomorrow’s upmarket enclave.
Thinking of buying? Call us today to understand your borrowing power – it’ll help let you know where you can afford to buy.
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