- Median house prices ranged between $460,000 to $500,000
- Average weekly household income for those suburbs were between $1,152 to $1,813
- 8 out of the top 10 were units, with the remainder houses
As the cost of housing continues to rise for multiple reasons, affordable housing remains a hot topic on the minds of millions of middle-income earners.
Halfway through last year, data from a Master Builders Queensland survey found the cost of timber was moving up some 25%, and steel 10%. Those figures only continued to rise.
More recently, the ABS released data showing some of the most significant price rises during December included new dwellings at 4.2%; petrol prices were up 6.6%.
“Shortages of building supplies and labour, combined with continued strong demand for new dwellings, contributed to price increases for newly built houses, townhouses and apartments,” said ABS’ head of price statistics, Michelle Marquardt.
It comes as no surprise some are being driven to the outskirts of town, if not into the regions, with some researchers suggesting that’s one of a few ways to tackle urban density issues that may arise in more populated cities like Melbourne and Sydney.
Even then there are issues, with natural disasters a threat of growing certainty – the majority of respondents to an Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) survey said they were deeply concerned about bushfires.
Research commissioned by HOOD.ai whittled down the suburbs for buyers on average salaries.
The research excluded suburbs with an SA3 region more than 100 kilometres from a capital city CBD and suburbs with a low socio-economic status as measured by having a SEIFA socio-economic score of less than 5.
SA3 and SEIFA are definitions from the Australian Bureau of Statistics determining a cluster of suburbs, and relative socio-economic advantage or disadvantage, respectively.
For the top 10 sales markets, median sale prices ranged from $460,000 to $500,000, while the average weekly household incomes of those suburbs ranged from $1,152 to $1,813.
Top 10 suburbs to buy in on an average salary
| Rank | State | Suburb | Postcode | Type | Median sale price | Distance to CBD* |
| 1 | VIC | Tyabb | 3913 | Unit | $460,000 | 50km |
| 2 | VIC | Manifold Heights | 3218 | Unit | $462,500 | 68km |
| 3 | VIC | Sydenham | 3037 | Unit | $470,000 | 18km |
| 4 | VIC | Truganina | 3029 | Unit | $471,000 | 37km |
| 5 | SA | Maslin Beach | 5170 | House | $475,000 | 22km |
| 6 | QLD | Pacific Pines | 4211 | Unit | $477,000 | 62km |
| 7 | VIC | Sunbury | 3429 | Unit | $480,000 | 33km |
| 8 | VIC | Cranbourne North | 3977 | Unit | $485,000 | 50km |
| 9 | VIC | Grovedale | 3216 | Unit | $495,000 | 68km |
| 10 | SA | Surrey Downs | 5126 | House | $500,000 | 17km |
* ‘Distance to CBD’ is not the average distance of the suburb to the CBD but the average distance of the suburb’s ‘SA3 region’ (a technical term the Australian Bureau of Statistics uses to define a cluster of suburbs) to the CBD.
Top 10 affordable suburbs to buy in, details
Tyabb
| Median sale price | $460,000 |
| Days on market | 33 days |
| Average weekly household income | $1,523 |
| Distance to CBD* | 50km |
| SEIFA socio-economic score** | 7 |
Manifold Heights
| Median sale price | $462,500 |
| Days on market | 20 days |
| Average weekly household income | $1,419 |
| Distance to CBD* | 68km |
| SEIFA socio-economic score** | 8 |
Sydenham
| Median sale price | $470,000 |
| Days on market | 37 days |
| Average weekly household income | $1,541 |
| Distance to CBD* | 18km |
| SEIFA socio-economic score** | 5 |
Truganina
| Median sale price | $471,000 |
| Days on market | 76 days |
| Average weekly household income | $1,706 |
| Distance to CBD* | 37km |
| SEIFA socio-economic score** | 7 |
Maslin Beach
| Median sale price | $475,000 |
| Days on market | 26 days |
| Average weekly household income | $1,152 |
| Distance to CBD* | 22km |
| SEIFA socio-economic score** | 5 |
Pacific Pines
| Median sale price | $477,000 |
| Days on market | 38 days |
| Average weekly household income | $1,813 |
| Distance to CBD* | 62km |
| SEIFA socio-economic score** | 7 |
Sunbury
| Median sale price | $480,000 |
| Days on market | 33 days |
| Average weekly household income | $1,574 |
| Distance to CBD* | 33km |
| SEIFA socio-economic score** | 6 |
Cranbourne North
| Median sale price | $485,000 |
| Days on market | 35 days |
| Average weekly household income | $1,591 |
| Distance to CBD* | 50km |
| SEIFA socio-economic score** | 5 |
Grovedale
| Median sale price | $495,000 |
| Days on market | 19 days |
| Average weekly household income | $1,222 |
| Distance to CBD* | 68km |
| SEIFA socio-economic score** | 5 |
Surrey Downs
| Median sale price | $500,000 |
| Days on market | 33 days |
| Average weekly household income | $1,445 |
| Distance to CBD* | 17km |
| SEIFA socio-economic score** | 5 |
** ‘SEIFA socio-economic score’ is an Australian Bureau of Statistics measure that ranks
areas in Australia according to relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage. If a suburb has a score of 5, it means it’s in the fifth decile (i.e. 41-50%) in terms of its
socio-economic position.
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Top 10 suburbs to buy on an average salary
- Tyabb
- Manifold Heights
- Sydenham
- Truganina
- Maslin Beach
- Pacific Pines
- Sunbury
- Cranbourne North
- Grovedale
- Surrey Downs
