The most affordable suburbs still close to the city centre

After years of on-and-off Covid lockdowns and restrictions, inner-city living has come back into vogue.

Now, new data has revealed where buyers can find a home under $400,000 and still be within 10 kilometres of the CBD in four out of the five largest capital cities.

The PropTrack data divided each capital city into three rings - inner, middle and outer - based on the number of dwellings in each, and then identified the 10 cheapest suburbs located within the inner ring for both houses and units.

New data reveals the least expensive suburbs close to the CBD in each major capital. Picture: Getty

However, when it comes to the biggest bargains, PropTrack economist Angus Moore said these would largely be limited to apartments.

“A key thing that stands out in the data is that even the cheapest suburbs for houses in the inner-city are still expensive,” Mr Moore said.

“That’s hardly a surprise. Land in inner-ring suburbs is very scarce, and so detached houses are expensive as a result.”

Due to size and other market-related reasons, small capitals like Hobart, Darwin, and Canberra weren’t included in the list.

Here’s what the data showed.

Sydney's ‘cheapest median’ still most expensive in the country

Sydney continues to maintain the crown as the most expensive capital city, despite home prices correcting in recent months.

And that means buyers will need to look a little further from the city centre to find relative ‘affordability’.

^{Even as Sydney's most affordable inner-ring suburb, houses in Campsie remain out of reach for many. Picture: realestate.com.au}

Even still, the cheapest median house price within Sydney’s inner-ring remains above the $1 million mark.

Campsie’s median house price was $1.4 million over the 12 months to August. Located around 10 kilometres southwest of the CBD, or a 20-minute commute on the train.

Several trendy inner-west suburbs, like St Peters, Newtown and Erskineville, also made the top 10 list, but with a higher price tag to match.

For units, Croydon Park tops the affordability list with a median sale price of $612,000

Sydney’s cheapest inner-ring suburbs - houses

Sydney’s cheapest inner-ring suburbs - units

City lifestyle is cheaper in Melbourne

The cheapest suburb for houses in Melbourne’s inner-ring is found in Braybrook, with a median price of $788,000. It’s almost half of what you can expect to pay to be the same distance from Sydney’s CBD.

However buyers can still be close to the heart of Melbourne for under $400,000.

The median price for units in Travancore is $342,000 and Essendon North sits at $395,000.

Melbourne's cheapest inner-ring suburbs - houses

Melbourne's cheapest inner-ring suburbs – units

Brisbane inner-city entry level higher than Melbourne

In terms of affordable city living, being closer to Brisbane’s CBD has a higher entry point than it does in Melbourne.

PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh said in terms of price growth, Brisbane has outperformed Sydney and Melbourne.

"Technically overall median [prices] in Melbourne is still more, but generally, to-date this year home price growth in Brisbane has retained stronger momentum relative to Sydney and Melbourne," she said.

"We have seen many taking advantage of remote work and more affordable prices in Brisbane and Queensland overall."

^{Brisbane prices have been driven sharply higher during the pandemic. Picture: Getty}

The cheapest median price for a house in Brisbane’s inner-ring is $842,000 in the suburb of Keperra, located about 12 kilometres from the CBD. It is more than $50,000 more expensive than Melbourne's cheapest inner-ring suburb.

Units are also more expensive, in comparison. The cheapest median price in the inner-ring is $395,000 for a unit in Spring Hill. That’s $50,000 more than Melbourne’s cheapest median for units.

Brisbane’s cheapest inner-ring suburbs - houses

Brisbane’s cheapest inner-ring suburbs - units

Adelaide top 10 inner-ring all under $700,000

Adelaide is still offering cheap alternatives whilst not sacrificing distance from the CBD.

Local real estate agent Callan Eames from Noakes and Nickolas Ashford said in his experience, many buyers were looking for houses as opposed to units, driven by the desire to work from home.

"They're either wanting that third or fourth bedroom or the second living area so it can be utilised as a study or a home office," Mr Eames said.

"The market hasn’t slowed down even though Sydney and Melbourne have taken a bit of a hit. So leading into spring I suspect that Adelaide, even though interest rates are going up, will stay quite stable and quite buoyant."

Kilburn has the cheapest median house price of $525,000. Lightsview, Ferryden Park and Ascot Park also have a median sale price of under $600,000.

Buyers could also buy a unit in Kurralta Park and Brooklyn Park for less than $300,000.

Adelaide’s cheapest inner-ring suburbs - houses

Adelaide’s cheapest inner-ring suburbs - units

Perth the most affordable inner-city capital

Perth is the only market where all top 10 suburbs have a median price of less than $600,000.

Real Estate Institute of Western Australia president Damian Collins said residents were in an enviable position when it came to price.

"While interest rate rises will naturally have some impact on our local market, West Australians are the best placed in the country to manage the costs of servicing a loan.

"Not only do we have [some of] the most affordable housing in the country and a strong economy and jobs market, but we also have a housing shortage and growing population," Mr Collins said.

^{Perth offers affordable properties within close proximity to the CBD. Picture: Getty}

The cheapest median price for units is in Wembley, situated five kilometres west of the CBD. The median price for a unit is just $250,000.

"There's not a lot of units in Wembley and Glendalough and a lot of them are older style 1970’s flats, whereas a house is generally over a million dollars," Mr Collins said.

Westminster, about 11 kilometres north of the CBD, is the cheapest suburb for houses, with a median price of $400,000.

Perth’s cheapest inner-ring suburbs - houses

Perth’s cheapest inner-ring suburbs - units