The 5 best affordable suburbs in Canberra 2023
Find out which suburbs in Canberra made the top five list in Bright Stars: Canstar’s Best Affordable Suburbs Report powered by Hotspotting.
There are plenty of great locations in Canberra where you can buy a home for less than $744,993. This was the cut-off price we used for our ‘Bright Star’ suburbs in the nation’s capital. (For more on why we chose this see our full report.)
Of course, price isn’t the only consideration when selecting a location to buy property. Lifestyle benefits and prospects for growth should also be on the checklist. In Canstar’s Best Affordable Suburbs Report we used five key metrics – sales volumes, price growth, vacancy rates, infrastructure and proximity to work and amenities – to identify the affordable suburbs that are desirable and likely to grow in value over time. Check out our list below.
The 5 best affordable suburbs in Canberra
- Belconnen (Houses & Units)
- Bruce (Units)
- Canberra City (Units)
- Charnwood
- Turner (Units)
Belconnen (Houses & Units)
The suburb of Belconnen is the centre of the Belconnen District in Canberra’s north. It’s the most affordable place to buy, with medians of $595,000 for houses and $495,000 for units. It’s dominated by units (almost 300 sales in the past year, compared to 24 houses), and both have shown growth in the past year and long term. Belconnen Town Centre has Canberra University and a host of amenities.
Bruce (Units)
This is a northern suburb dominated by units (annually, 32 house sales and 183 unit sales). The median unit price has grown 15% in the past year but remains affordable at $460,000. The vacancy rate is 1.3%. Bruce has a big chunk of Canberra Nature Park and is a major centre for education, including University of Canberra and Australian Institute of Sport.
Canberra City (Units)
“City” is the place to be for quick access to Australian National University, Canberra Institute of Technology, National Gallery of Australia and Parliament House. The long-term capital growth record for City apartments is not special but the recent record has been good – 138 apartment sales at a median price of $610,000, up 15% in the past 12 months.
Charnwood
Canberra is an expensive city for houses and Charnwood (median price $715,000) is one of the cheapest suburbs. Located in the far north of the ACT, it has several schools and major green spaces. It’s about 4km to the Belconnen Town Centre and University of Canberra. The vacancy rate in Charnwood has never been higher than 1.8% in 20 years.
Turner (Units)
This inner suburb of Canberra, immediately north of “City”, is an apartment market (in the past year 20 house sales and 102 apartment sales). The median price for houses is above $2 million but the unit median is $640,000, with big growth in the past year. Turner is within walking distance of Australian National University and, like most Canberra suburbs, it has lots of green space.
The best affordable suburbs in Canberra
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Suburb | Median price | 10% Deposit | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Initial outlay* | Monthly repayment+ | Repayments as a percentage of dual income^ | |||
With FHB concession | No FHB concession | ||||
Belconnen | $595,000 | $73,262 | $88,053 | $3,108 | 22.00% |
Belconnen (U) | $495,000 | $58,682 | $68,707 | $2,586 | 18.30% |
Bruce (U) | $460,000 | $54,575 | $63,342 | $2,403 | 17.00% |
Canberra City (U) | $610,000 | $75,094 | $90,570 | $3,186 | 22.60% |
Charnwood | $715,000 | $87,919 | $108,186 | $3,735 | 26.50% |
Turner (U) | $640,000 | $78,759 | $95,603 | $3,343 | 23.70% |
Sources: Median price: CoreLogic as at February 2023. Initial outlay and repayment data: canstar.com.au prepared on 26 June 2023. (U) stands for units. *Initial outlay figures include the deposit, stamp duty, mortgage registration and transfer fees; and lenders’ mortgage insurance (LMI) premium. Stamp duty calculated based on an owner occupier purchase of an established dwelling. LMI premium based on Helia LMI Premium Calculator for an owner occupier borrower and a loan term of 30 years. +Monthly repayments calculated based on the average variable interest rates of 5.7% and a loan term of 30 years. Interest rates based on the average owner occupier, principal and interest variable rate for a loan of $500,000 over the past year, rounded to the nearest 0.1%. ^Percentage of income based on the average total income by Greater Capital City Statistical Area (ABS Personal Income, 2019-20), adjusted by the ABS Wage Price Index (Dec-2022) for each state. A dual income assumes two people with the average income. For estimates on initial outlay, monthly repayments and repayments as a percentage of income based on a 20% deposit see full report.
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