For those looking for an affordable investment in Brisbane, it pays to look further than the inner city.
That’s according to a new report, which has named three suburbs up to 19 kilometres from the CBD as Brisbane’s affordability hotspots.
Runcorn, Keperra and Wynnum West have been named the top hotspots for affordable houses in PRD Nationwide’s Property Affordability 2016 Hotspot Report.
PRD Nationwide national research manager, Dr Diaswati Mardiasmo, said there was plenty of value in the Brisbane market.
“Brisbane is positioning itself as the next world city, and because of this, there are a lot of development projects in the pipeline,” she said.
“Combined with its lower entry price to Sydney and Melbourne, many are increasingly seeing the current and potential future value of Brisbane.”
Runcorn is another affordability hotspot according to the PRD report. 15 Honeybrook Street is for sale for $609,000. Photo: Supplied
The hotspots were chosen based on price growth over the past 15 months, and the average Queensland home loan was factored in to ensure the suburbs were affordable. The amount of upcoming development was also a factor used to take into account future investment potential.
“We look at past growth and potential for future growth, to ensure that hotspots are not one-hit wonders,” Dr Mardiasmo said.
“We also make sure that hotspots are within the affordable range so that it is accessible to the wider market and not just a selected view.”
Keperra is just nine kilometres from the CBD and has a median house price of $465,500, and was chosen as a hotspot for having a low entry price point in an attractive area.
Harcourts agent Christine McKay has worked in Keperra for 15 years and also lives in the area. She said it was a fantastic area that had stayed affordable thanks to its housing commission past.
“I live in Keperra as well, and I love it; it’s leafy, it’s got parks, it’s got bikeways,” she said.
“Even though there is still some [public] housing it’s well kept, so it’s still a lovely area.”
Ms McKay said infrastructure in Keperra and its surrounding suburbs was excellent. Four major shopping centres are nearby and seven schools are within a three kilometre radius of the suburb.
“Investors are coming because of the infrastructure and the growth; house prices are just going up,” she said.
“No one in their wildest dreams would have thought house prices in Keperra would reach $400,000, and now houses are selling for as much as $600,000.”
Runcorn, with a median house price of $519,000, made the cut thanks to its easy access to public transport, and development projects set to inject $466.4 million-worth of investment into the area.
32 Rodney Street, Wynnum West is for sale for offers over$479,000. Photo: Supplied
Olive Geary from Runcorn Realty says public transport is really the main attraction.
“The biggest thing is public transport, and it’s great because it’s located so closely to Sunnybank and Sunnybank Hills.”
First home buyers are being priced out of those more popular areas, Ms Geary said, so they were turning to Runcorn as a good alternative.
Wynnum West made the cut thanks to a planned $62 million-worth of investment slated for 2016, which includes 257 residential units.
Demand for apartments from interstate and overseas investors as well as a desire to be close to the CBD is driving unit prices closer to house prices, according to Dr Mardiasmo.
“You also see a lot of people moving to Brisbane that are downsizing from previous homes and this demographic seem to prefer apartments.”
Mount Gravatt East, Corinda and Cannon Hill are the best suburbs for unit investment, according to the PRD report.
