What you can buy for less than Canberra's median house price

Across the capital, there are many places where you can nab yourself a home on a generous block of land for less than Canberra’s median house price.

But what type of dwellings are on the market under that threshold, and where can buyers look if they want something for less than the median?

Canberra’s house prices have hit a record-high median of $927,577, according to the latest Domain House Price Report for the March quarter 2021. This was a quarterly increase of 9.7 per cent and yearly growth of 19.5 per cent.

Jeremy Maher of Harcourts Brindabella said buyers would be able to purchase a “small three-bedroom standalone-home or townhouse in Belconnen or Gungahlin”, under that price.

“You wouldn’t be able to find a house under that threshold in the Inner North and Inner South. You’d be restricted to an apartment rather than a stand-alone house,” he said.

Buyers who had a budget of between $900,000 and $1 million who had set their sights on the inner-city suburbs were now looking in pockets of the Belconnen region, Amy Wilson of Belle Property Canberra said.

“With prices increasing across Canberra, buyers’ budgets are also being pushed up to meet the market,” she said.

“I met a buyer at an auction recently who was looking for a house in the Inner North but is now looking at Page and Cook because they’re just priced out of the area.”

With houses selling under the hammer through shorter-than-usual auction campaigns, the number of buyers at open home inspections has also increased.

“We have record numbers through our open home inspections; a lot more buyers than usual,” Ms Wilson said.

According to data from Domain Group’s Homepass, an app that allows agents to check-in people attending open inspections automatically, Canberra had the highest open home attendance of all capital cities between May 17 and 23.

“There were 58 per cent more check-ins per open home in Canberra than Sydney,” said Domain’s senior research analyst Nicola Powell.

“The fact that we have a high level of check-ins per open home illustrates the interest and competition that still remain in this market … purchasing conditions are still very much favouring sellers [and] there are more buyers out there than there are listings.”

Some buyers have given up on house hunting altogether, waiting for the market to soften, Mr Maher added.

“We spoke to a number of buyers, and they said they’re tired of looking and tired of getting their hopes up to have them slashed,” he said.

“They’ll just continue renting with the hopes [the market] will come down, but I don’t think it will. I don’t see house prices increasing quite significantly as we’ve seen at the start of the year, but I don’t see it dropping by much either.”

Living in regions further from the city centre “wasn’t all doom and gloom” though, Miss Wilson said.

“Other regions including Belconnen, Gungahlin, Tuggeranong and Molonglo Valley outside of the city have their own unique offerings and town centres … buyers would be able to afford a three-bedroom stand-alone house on a decent-sized block with an en suite under the median in these regions,” she said.

“I recently sold a four-bedroom house in Page for $855,000, so there are definitely a few houses on the market that buyers can get their hands on; they just need to be quick before they sell.”

So, if you’re on the hunt for your first home, the next home to move into or perhaps you’re an investor, we’ve gathered our top five picks of properties under Canberra’s median house price for sale.

Evatt

Price guide: $799,000 +

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Bonner

Price guide: $549,000+

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Banks

Price guide: $775,000+

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Denman Prospect

Price guide: $789,900

View property

Gordon

Price guide: $558,888+

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