AAA<\/p>\n
Home buyers across Australia\u2019s biggest east coast cities have more affordable and liveable options than they did six months ago as sluggish market conditions open a rare window to amenity-rich pockets within 20 kilometres of the city.<\/p>\n
As property prices backslide or slow in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane<\/a>, research that maps the best liveable pockets for budget buyers shows affordability improved over the past six months, bringing suburbs that were previously out of reach or unviable into play.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n They include Brisbane\u2019s Taigum, Melbourne\u2019s Epping and Sydney\u2019s Regents Park.<\/p>\n The suburbs, highlighted in PRD Real Estate\u2019s Smart Moves: Capital City Edition First Half 2026, released on Friday, the featured suburbs are within 20 kilometres of the CBD, have a lower median property price than their metro area, a pipeline of commercial and infrastructure projects and new housing supply, rental yields and vacancy rates on par with, or better than, the metro area.<\/p>\n They have amenities within a five-kilometre radius such as schools, public transport, shopping centres, healthcare and green spaces.<\/p>\n The share of Sydney suburbs meeting the affordability benchmark rose from 7.8 to 11.6 per cent for houses and from 36.9 to 50.6 per cent for units between the second half of 2025 and the first half of 2026. In Brisbane, the share for units rose from 38.7 to 66.7 per cent.<\/p>\n Related Article In Melbourne, houses in 26.1 per cent of suburbs were deemed affordable, up from 25.4 per cent six months earlier.<\/p>\n The shift follows three interest rate hikes this year, rising cost-of-living pressures, global conflicts and housing tax changes in the federal budget. Each issue has cooled buyer confidence and competition.<\/p>\n But unless the RBA announces another batch of cash rate hikes, PRD chief economist Dr Diaswati Mardiasmo warns the window on at least half this year\u2019s list could slam shut within 12 months.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom past experiences with this report, we have seen suburbs not make it onto the list the following year,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cMany that we highlighted \u2013 such as Taigum, Epping and Regents Park \u2013 won\u2019t make it for the next one because economic conditions are making them more affordable…<\/p>\n \u201cBut there\u2019s increased affordability now and the fact that we\u2019ve been able to find more suburbs compared to last year is because some declined in price.\u201d<\/p>\n She said while buyers had less borrowing power now than last year, they could purchase a place for maybe $50,000 less.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd if you look at any of these markets listed, they have all grown a lot over the last decade,\u201d Mardiasmo said.<\/p>\n Related Article In Sydney, Merrylands (median house price of $1.45 million), Chester Hill ($1.41 million) and Granville ($1.275 million) were identified as the best options for houses. For units, Bankstown ($620,000), Regents Park ($536,000) and Granville ($543,250) topped the list.<\/p>\n In Melbourne, St Albans ($720,000), Epping ($740,000) and Lalor ($775,250) led the way for houses, while Maribyrnong ($488,000), St Kilda ($490,000) and Abbotsford ($530,000) were named the standout pockets for units.<\/p>\n In Brisbane, the best-value houses were found in Richlands ($922,500), Griffin ($950,000) and Taigum ($1.065 million), while unit buyers were pointed towards the inner-city addresses of Spring Hill ($640,000), Bowen Hills ($650,000) and Fortitude Valley ($650,000).<\/p>\n In Sydney, Starr Partners CEO Doug Driscoll said Merrylands was a former ugly duckling turned swan.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t have considered it 10 years ago \u2026 it was the land that time forgot. The town centre was antiquated and stock was ordinary,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s still in a transitional phase but it has gone through a metamorphosis and a lot of that is down to easing of planning rules and rezoning. Those old \u201970s fibro houses have been replaced by architecturally designed homes and trendy townhouses and villas.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve spent money on the town centre and Parramatta is on the doorstep.\u201d<\/p>\n In Melbourne, Tony Lombardi of Harcourts Rata & Co said Epping and Lalor were top picks thanks to their amenity, affordability and liveability.<\/p>\n \u201cThe median house price is giving affordable opportunities now and yet we don\u2019t have that negative equity threat there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are also seeing low vacancy rates from a rental perspective and average rents not really decreasing, in fact an increase, and it\u2019s still quite strong.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are still houses there for sub-$700,000 where you can take advantage of stamp duty concessions. For me, if I had a budget of $750,000 and I could get into Thomastown, Lalor or Epping on a decent-sized block, even if the home is a bit older, that\u2019s where I\u2019d be going.\u201d<\/p>\n In Brisbane, record-setting growth has slowed. Michael Spillane of Innov8 Property said less competition made now a prime time to buy in suburbs such as Griffin and Taigum.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there\u2019s any suburb that has literally everything it\u2019s North Lakes. And Griffin sits on the edge of that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cNorth Lakes is tightly held and prices have risen a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"More](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/52e31d15afbf18c301b9d188d2cf3358c400e963.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Merrylands](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/71dd19e5e700a46253e5d9c0357b075fb59940f4.jpeg\")
Merrylands has a median house price of $1.45 million. Edwina Pickles<\/p>\n![\"Home](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782356542_547_47715f14ea4c41172791c6f8a31a3775a87d00e7.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n