28 June 2021

See the ACT's best value suburbs for buying houses and units

| Ian Bushnell
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See Gungahlin Differently

Some Gungahlin suburbs have surged by more than $150,000 in a year. Photo: Region Media.

The outer suburbs of Belconnen and Tuggeranong offer the best value for house hunters in the ACT’s hot property market, according to new data showing the 20 suburbs with the lowest price by median value.

The figures from CoreLogic list the best value 20 suburbs for houses and units as at May 2021, together with the median values from the same time last year, reflecting the growth in property prices over the year.

While the house list may not surprise those seeking a standalone property who have had to expand their search further from the city centre, the unit list throws up a few interesting results closer in.

The lowest median value for a house sits at a value of $562,444 for ACT Remainder-Belconnen, the previously undeveloped and barely populated area of the Belconnen district which was not applicable last year.

READ ALSO See the Canberra suburbs in the million-dollar club

But Belco’s outer suburbs of Charnwood and Holt are next at $598,044 and $641,183, both putting on more than $100,000 in value over the year and showing just how fast the market is moving.

Up to the $700,000 mark, there is a mix of Belconnen and Tuggeranong suburbs – Isabella Plains, Richardson, Latham, MacGregor, Theodore, Spence, Higgins, Chisholm and Scullin – before Gungahlin makes an appearance with Ngunnawal at $709,389 – surging more than $150,000 in value on May 2020.

Lowest median home values table

Rivett and the sprawling suburb of Kambah offer the best hope of something closer in, although listings in Rivett are hard to come by.

Dunlop, way out on the NSW border in Belconnen, rounds out the list at $748,363.

The steep increases in house prices have prompted many potential buyers to lower their sights and pursue a unit instead, and there are quite a few relatively central suburbs on the list.

The conveniently located Lyons, close to Woden Town Centre, offers a median value of just over $300,000 and movement in the past year has been minimal.

This may reflect the age of some stock but new developments have been taking place, are in train or planned.

Next is nearby Curtin where the median jumps to $329,044, a $30,000 difference from last year, and Chifley in the Woden Valley at just over the $350,000 mark.

Gungahlin, which takes in the Town Centre where there has been intense multi-unit development, breaches the $400,000 barrier followed by a clutch of suburbs under $450,000 including the popular Weston Creek suburb of Fisher and Inner North areas of Lyneham and O’Connor.

Also represented is growing Greenway, the Belconnen Town Centre, Phillip in Woden and Wright in the Molonglo Valley, where there has been intense multi-unit development in recent years.

Braddon in the city and Bruce in Belconnen round out the list in the over $450,000 zone, both with medians of $462,000.

Braddon has undergone significant multi-unit development, particularly opposite the Canberra Centre on the former public housing sites, and more is coming on the Northbourne Avenue side.

The increases in values have not mirrored that of houses with medians moving between $30,000 and $40,000.

Original Article published by Ian Bushnell on The RiotACT.

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