Look to Perth's lower quartile for affordable housing 23 June 2015 - Supplied by REIWA With housing affordability well and truly on the national agenda, REIWA President David Airey said it was important WA home buyers did not use the median price as the sole guide for ingoing costs into Perth's real estate market.  Mr Airey said the median price was the middle point in the market and that half of all sales were under it.  While the median house price in metropolitan Perth is now around $547,000, this still means that 50 per cent of purchases are under this price, it doesn't mean you need at least $547,000 to enter the market.  ”It's also important to recognise that first home buyers, in particular, usually purchase homes well under the median price, with Office of State Revenue data for May showing the median point for entry-level buyers being $450,000 in Perth and $366,000 in the regions.  ”Even the median purchase price for first home buyers means that half of all entry-level buyers are paying under these city and country median prices for their demographic," Mr Airey said.  Mr Airey said it was more useful for first home buyers to look at the 'lower quartile', or bottom 25 per cent, of the more affordable homes in an area to get a better perspective of what was available at more accessible prices.  reiwa.com data for the year to March shows that the southeast sub-region of Perth through Gosnells, Armadale and Serpentine-Jarrahdale had the most affordable lower quartile with houses selling at $370,000.  Apartments and land were most affordable in the southwest sub-region through Cockburn, Kwinana and Rockingham.  Year to March 2015 - Lower quartile prices across Perth sub-regions REGION HOUSE UNIT/APARTMENT/VILLA LAND Central sub-region* $550,000 $382,000 $357,000 Northwest sub-region** $455,000 $340,000 $216,000  Northeast sub-region*** $420,000 $329,000 $220,000 Southeast sub-region + $370,000 $278,000 $208,000 Southwest sub-region ++ $383,000 $277,000 $204,000  Perth metropolitan (overall) $440,000 $355,000 $215,000 Mr Airey said even within the various sub-regions around Perth there were individual suburbs which were under the lower quartile for their local area.  ”For example, the central sub-region has a lower quartile of $550,000, but it's possible to find houses in Balga priced at around $385,000.  "Similarly, while the median price for units in the southwest sub-region is $277,000, you can find them in Orelia at around $196,000," Mr Airey said.  Airey said that buyers should not be put off by the median price for a region or suburb, and look to the lower quartile for opportunities in areas they might initially think are out of their price range based on the overall median.  Most affordable suburbs within each sub-region Year to March 2015 - lower quartiles. REGION HOUSE  UNIT/APARTMENT/VILLA  Central sub-region Balga $385,000 Osborne Park $265,000 Northwest sub-region Merriwa $358,000 Currambine $310,000 Northeast sub-region Koongamia $320,000 Lockridge $292,000 Southeast sub-region Camillo $280,000 Armadale $249,000 Southwest sub-region Medina $258,000 Orelia $196,000 Glossary: * The Central sub-region includes 13 local government authorities in a radius of approximately 15 kilometres from the CBD. ** The Northwest sub-region includes the cities of Joondalup and Wanneroo. *** The Northeast sub-region includes the City of Swan along with the Shires of Kalamunda and Mundaring. + The Southeast sub-region includes the cities of Gosnells and Armadale along with the shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale. ++ The Southwest sub-region includes the cities of Cockburn and Rockingham and the Town of Kwinana.

Seriously you have to choose your suburb wisely !!  Sometimes its best to stretch yourself to live in a better area rather than try to buy a house instead of purchasing a townhouse in a better area....




MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS AND GIVE IT A REAL GO !!