The suburbs were average workers now CAN afford to buy homes as property prices continue to plunge
- Prices in 20 Sydney suburbs are now within reach of average income earners
- They were previously priced out in the property boom when it cost $640,000
- Some suburbs saw costs fall almost 20 per cent in the past year
- More than a dozen Melbourne suburbs are now cheaper than five years ago
Australians on a normal income can finally afford to buy a home after the property boom priced them out of the market.
Prices were too high even just a year ago for buyers on an average salary to afford the mortgage repayments in major cities.
Since then prices have tumbled by almost 20 per cent in many suburbs, putting them within reach of cash-strapped families.
Australians on a normal income can finally afford to buy a home after the property boom priced them out of the market with suburbs like Whalan (pictured) falling
Median prices in 20 Sydney suburbs have fallen to below $500,000, where they were as high as $640,000 during the peak of the boom.
This puts them in range of buyers earning the city’s average household wage of $83,000, without spending more than a third of their cash on the mortgage.
Bankstown, Granville, Harris Park, Whalan, Willmot, Airds, Emerton, Tregear, and Blackett are now being targeted, according to CoreLogic data.
Unit prices in suburbs like Liverpool and Rosehill are now under $500,000 and farther west have dropped as low as $300,000.
Those with a bit more cash can take advantage of the fastest-falling suburbs in the city, led by Gladesville which fell 18 per cent in the past year to $1.71 million.
Epping is now at $1.45 million, Peakhurst $950,000, and Penshurst at $1.05 million, according to Domain price figures.
Melbourne has a similar story with prices lower in 18 suburbs than they were even five years ago.
The trendy inner suburb of Abbotsford saw the biggest fall with units averaging just $450,000 – 22 per cent cheaper than 2014.
The median price in Travancore also took a hit of 18 per cent, meaning a property worth $425,000 in 2014 will now fetch $350,000.
The trendy inner suburb of Abbotsford saw the biggest fall with units averaging just $450,000 – 22 per cent cheaper than 2014
Central Melbourne suburb Windsor dropped 14 per cent, while Bundoora, in the city’s north, saw a decrease of almost 10 per cent.
In St Kilda, where prices have dropped almost 40 per cent, a house worth nearly 1.4 million just one year ago is now worth just over $800,000.
‘The barrier for first home buyers entering the market is shrinking. People that may have previously been pushed out of the property circle are now getting the option to buy,’ Graham Cooke from Finder.com.au said.
Central Melbourne suburb Windsor dropped 14 per cent as one of 18 suburbs that are cheaper now than they were five years ago