I am always skeptical of these lists however they always make way for good conversation/debate lol. The latest list provided by PRDnationwide revels that Queensland suburb of Charleville is the state’s most affordable place to live.
According to the study, Charleville was the least expensive suburb with a median price of $140,000, while Tara and Gayndah finished second and third respectively with house prices below $155,000.
Note most of these suburbs are situated in rural Queensland.
Check the rest of the list below.
Top 10 affordable suburbs
Charleville: $140,000
Tara: $151,000
Gayndah: $155,000
Mount Morgan: $160,000
St George: $187,250
Rockhampton City: $195,000
Harlaxton: $215,000
Oakey: $216,750
Home Hill: $219,500
Stanthorpe: $225,000
What do you think??? is it just more fluff or is it worth while looking into
By the time you have seen these median prices they are often already wildly out of date. I remember seeing something on Greenwich (Sydney) having a 2 bed unit median price around $365k last year saying it was a great buy & get in quick etc. Next issue of similar magazine (few months later) median was $450k. Following article for projections was a drop of 12% in the following year.
Why? It depends greatly upon the time of year and when the stats are taken.
In the first instance, the author was relying on a 12 month median (not a rolling median) at a time when there was very little stock on the market due to GFC, no new work hitting the market, owners not being adversely affected by GFC forced sales etc.
The second article was skewed as a major project was completed (over 55's upmarket development) with very few resales of older units.
The third projection, took out the wash from the new sales & some return to normality.
The ones that drive me nuts are the property magazines where they show rental return based on the average purchase price for the suburb vs the average rental advertised. This always significantly skews the results. Examples that consistently show the wrong information that is not representative of the market:
Ultimo, NSW – Half the units sold are in a university complex. very cheap and 20 -30 sqm. They aren’t advertised for rent as they are rented straight to students. Those apartments that are for rent are much larger and nicer. The rental return looks fantastic on paper but isnt representative of the market
Hepburn Springs, VIC – Somehow they take the average rental to include holiday homes that are rented by the week. The real rental return is nothing like they report
Woolloomooloo, NSW – This is another market that they claim has a high rental return. I have researched it extensively and can’t find any opportunities at the amount they claim is the average.I think that overall the rental returns are skewed upwards and not representative. If the places that are advertised for rent were priced correctly, they wouldn’t still be available for rent, and high end rentals are likely to sit on the market longest. Statistics like these are always inaccurate and misrepresented, especially in the short term.
That is precisely why you would engage a valuer – they have access to the full range of data (and if briefed properly, the right COMPARABLE data) for the market segment that people are looking at.
It is of no value to look at median sales prices (which may include one, two and three bedroom houses) when you are looking at 4 bedders – it takes more research than the commonly available freebies. Likewise with rentals, you will need to doorknock agents or check their online listings rather than newspaper adverts, do the drive-bys (or google maps) etc to see what is truely comparable, then form your own conclusions.
There's lots of cheap property in rural Qld….it's cos SFA of the popuation live there. It's probably more important to add at least one more variable to the list so that you get a list of "affordable properties you will actually be able to re-sell".
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