Where it’s still cheaper to buy than rent in your state

It’s cheaper to buy than rent, right?

That might have used to have been the case in recent years, but new data shows in the overwhelming majority of cases Australians are better off buying.

Research from Compare The Market has revealed where in Australia you’re better off buying, and where you’re better off renting.

If you were looking to buy, brace yourself, there are some challenges ahead.

But it can still be done, property expert Andrew Winter says.

“If owning a home is part of your long-term plan, and you have a deposit saved, you might find it’s worth paying a bit more to have a little slice of Australia to call your own,” he said.

“If you don’t currently need a lot of space, a unit somewhere central and convenient may be a great stepping stone to kick start your property journey.

Compare the Market property expert Andrew Winter. Picture: Supplied

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“And, if you’re able to hold onto that property for at least a few years, you’ll generally bank some equity when values go up.

“While you may be able to borrow a bit more it’s important to speak to an expert and stress test your mortgage to make sure you can afford your repayments comfortably.

“Securing a good interest rate, and refinancing every few years, is crucial to avoid paying more interest than you need to.”

Here’s how the market is performing in our major cities:

ADELAIDE

new data shows there is just one suburb in all of metropolitan Adelaide where you are better off buying than being a tenant.

Compare the Market data shows Adelaide city units or apartments are the only properties out of the 227 the comparison company has data for where you’re better off buying than renting.

Here monthly rental payments, on average, are $2750, whereas monthly repayments on a median-priced $526,058 unit are $2520 – some $229 less.

Regional buyers hoping to save by buying have more choice, but their options are still limited, with properties in 11 out of the 32 towns the company has data for cheaper to own than rent.

Adelaide city apartments were the only properties in metro Adelaide that were cheaper to buy than rent. Picture: Ben Clark

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These are Berri, Port Augusta, Port Augusta West, Port Pirie South, Port Pirie West, Risdon Park, Whyalla, Whyalla Jenkins, Whyalla Norrie, Whyalla Playford and Whyalla Stuart.

The biggest saving here can be found in Port Pirie West, where househunters can save $582 per month by forgoing $1602 a month in rent in favour of $1020 in mortgage repayments.

As far as rentals go, those looking to rent in St Peters, in Adelaide’s leafy inner eastern suburbs, stand to save the most.

Here a month’s rent will set you back $3637 – some $6615 less than the $10,252 you would be paying on a median priced property of more than $2.139m.

Read the full story here

MELBOURNE

Victorian tenants could save as much as $700 a month if they bought a home rather than rented in some parts of Victoria.

Compare the Market research revealed renters in Melbourne’s CBD were the worst off, forgoing a whopping $688 leasing rather than buying as the median monthly rental value was $2882 compared to typical monthly repayments of $2193 in the area.

And there are 15 suburbs in Victoria where it is cheaper to buy a house than rent one.

But none of them were in the metropolitan region, leaving would-be buyers with a rental budget to look at places like Morwell, Moe and Ararat.

Melbourne has the most options for those looking to own for less than the cost of rent. But it’s still not great. Picture: Tennis Australia/NICK LA GALLE

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But for units, the price comparison platform determined there were 16 areas in Greater Melbourne where you would be better off buying than renting.

Many of those suburbs were within 5kms of the CBD including Carlton, Travancore and Flemington where homebuyers could be $647 a month better off in an apartment.

But further out, bigger units could stack up in Roxburgh Park, Clyde North and Broadmeadows, with potential savings of $18-$123 a month.

Read the full story here

SYDNEY

Extreme rental rises over recent years have created pockets of Sydney where owning a home is now cheaper than renting one.

Exclusive new research showed there were eight Sydney suburbs where the repayments on a home purchased at current prices were up to $162 a month cheaper than average rents.

This rare occurrence of tenants paying more than mortgage holders was emerging in apartment development hotspots in Sydney’s west, plus higher density inner suburbs.

These areas tended to have a higher concentration of properties available for purchase, which helped moderate prices, coupled with a shortage of rental housing.

This had meant that rent increases had eclipsed property price rises over many years, creating an unusual opportunity for tenants to become first-home buyers and actually save money.

It’s slim picking when it comes to suburbs cheaper to rent than buy in Sydney. Picture: Getty Images

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The suburbs included Harris Park and Rosehill, near Parramatta, and Regents Park, in the Bankstown area, according to the Compare the Market analysis of CoreLogic data.

Other suburbs where owning a home was cheaper than renting included Liverpool and neighbouring suburb Warwick Farm, along with Villawood and, in the inner city, Ultimo.

Homeowners got the biggest savings in Mascot, with a typical unit bought at the current median price requiring $4,027 a month if paying with a 20 per cent deposit. Rents were typically $4,189 a month.

Read the full story here

BRISBANE

There are only two suburbs in Greater Brisbane where it is now cheaper to own a home than lease one, thanks to higher interest rates and continued property price rises.

Even explosive rent increases over the past year have not been enough to catch up with the unprecedented cost of home ownership in the Queensland capital, according to the exclusive research from Compare The Market.

The only southeast Queensland suburbs where homeowners are better off than tenants are Spring Hill and Goodna in Brisbane, and Ashmore on the Gold Coast, but across the rest of the state, owning a property is more affordable in 68 suburbs and towns.

Only two suburbs in greater Brisbane are cheaper to buy than rent. Picture: Supplied

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These include Bundaberg, Maryborough, Gladstone, Townsville, Mackay, and Cairns, where it is hundreds of dollars a month cheaper to pay off a home loan each month than be a tenant.

The data shows it could be wise to buy a unit than rent one in the inner-city suburb Spring Hill — literally 1km from Brisbane’s CBD, with the data showing the average monthly home loan repayment is $2724 compared to the average monthly rent of $2912.

Read the full story here