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As the cost of housing within the inner-city of Australia’s capitals continues to rise, potential buyers are looking further afield to get into the property market.

Middle ring suburbs – those within 10-20km from the city centre – are proving an attractive option for many. These established suburbs often offer greater amenities than those suburbs located further out from the CBD.

Middle-ring suburbs typically offer more affordable housing than the inner-city suburbs. Buyers may also find larger lot sizes for houses and a lower density unit landscape.

While overall amenity may not be as significant as within the inner 10km ring, because they are well established suburbs and still close to the city centre they are typically well catered for with regards to amenities and infrastructure.

The data shows the cost of houses in Sydney is considerably higher than they are across all other capital cities. At the other end of the spectrum, both houses and units in Hobart are much more affordable than all other capital cities.

It’s also noticeable across many of the cities that the gap between the most affordable suburbs for houses and units is generally not that substantial, especially relative to the results for inner-ring suburbs.

As the cost of housing becomes more unattainable for many within the inner-ring suburbs we will likely expect demand to grow for homes in the middle-ring suburbs.

This will likely be especially true for those suburbs which offer affordable price points and good local transport amenity. Although some may not consider the middle-ring suburbs to be quite as desirable as suburbs in the inner-ring, they generally offer relative proximity to the city centre at lower price points.

The top middle-ring suburbs

These are the suburbs within 20km of the CBD with the lowest median house and unit value.

Brisbane houses

Gailes – $246, 078
Woodridge – $269, 186
Wacol – $291, 153
Inala – $312, 010
Archerfield – $320, 495

Brisbane units

Woodridge – $194, 765
Warner – $249, 493
Strathpine – $259, 143
Brendale – $262, 528
Springwood – $276, 144

For houses, all of the suburbs listed are to the south-west of the city except Woodridge to the south. For units, they are all located outside of the Brisbane council area but are split between north and south.

Sydney houses

Birrong – $644, 349
Chester Hill – $646, 328
Sefton – $662, 657
Lakemba – $676, 479
Yagoona – $686, 338

Sydney units

Lakemba – $362, 363
Wiley Park – $366, 464
Punchbowl – $388, 635
Regents Park – $391, 634
Granville – $400, 992

All of the most affordable suburbs for houses within 20km of Sydney city are either in the Canterbury or Bankstown council areas. For units all of the suburbs are located west or south-west of the CBD.

Story by Cameron Kusher; Story source: www.realestate.com.au

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