Perth’s cheapest suburb $1M less than Sydney’s

• Westminster is Perth's cheapest inner-city suburb, with a median of $404K
• In Sydney, this is Arncliffe, which has a median well above $1.4M
• REIWA President says this confirms Perth's level of affordable housing

The cheapest inner-city Perth suburb has a median house price of more than $1 million below that of Sydney’s, data from CoreLogic has revealed.

Westminster, 12 kilometres north of the CBD, has a median house price of $404,577 which makes it the cheapest inner-city suburb in the Western Australian capital.

SQM Research data shows house prices in the area have increased over the past year but are still well below levels seen during the last housing boom.

Weekly Asking Prices – 6061 (inc. Westminster) 

Sydney’s “cheapest” inner-city suburb is Arncliffe, 11 kilometres south of the CBD, which has a median house of $1.455 million – currently similar to the median for Greater Sydney.

This means you could effectively buy three properties in Westminster for the price of one in Arncliffe.

By comparison, Melbourne’s is Maidstone, 8 kilometres north-west of the CBD at $922,681.

Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) President, Damian Collins, said this reaffirms Perth’s position as the most affordable capital city to buy a house in nationally.

“There are plenty of affordable options close to the city in Perth, whereas in places like Sydney and Melbourne you’d likely need to spend over a million dollars to get your foot in the door close to the city,” Mr Collins said.

“There is a significant difference between what is considered ‘affordable’ in Sydney and Melbourne, versus the equivalent in Perth.

“A million dollars goes a long way in our local property market, whereas on the east coast you’ll most likely have to fork out close to a million dollars for your first home, which is why prospective buyers are finding it increasingly difficult to get on the property ladder in these cities.”

The findings come as the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA)’s Real Estate Market Facts report revealed that Perth’s median house price of $515,000 is 43.7% below the national average.

Sydney’s is $1.41 million while Melbourne is $1.01 million.

“We are very lucky in WA that housing is still so affordable and that, even amidst a market recovery, home ownership remains within reach for so many West Australians,” Mr Collins concluded.

How do Perth, Sydney and Melbourne’s cheapest inner-city suburbs compare?

Source: CoreLogic and REIWA