The city where it's cheaper to buy than rent in more than 100 suburbs

Western Australia continues to be one of the nation’s most affordable areas to own a home, with buying now cheaper than renting in more than 100 suburbs, according to the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia.

It’s currently cheaper to buy than rent in 112 Perth suburbs, with home buyers in Brentwood, Medina and Parmelia seeing the greatest value over renters.

“It is more affordable to pay the costs associated with servicing a home loan than pay the weekly rent in 112 Perth suburbs, which should give tenants encouragement that homeownership is within reach,” said Damian Collins, president of REIWA.

Of the top 10 suburbs where it is cheaper to buy than rent, nine have a median house sale price below the Perth median of $520,000, according to REIWA. Eight have medians below $300,000.

“The bulk of the suburbs on this list fall within the traditional first-home buyer price range,” Collins said. “Even though Perth house prices have grown over the last 12 months, there is still excellent opportunity for prospective buyers to exit the rental market and step on to the property ladder. And as the reiwa.com analysis shows, servicing a loan is cheaper than paying rent in a lot of Perth suburbs.”

REIWA’s analysis assumes an 80% loan-to-value ratio on the suburb’s median house price with a 30-year repayment and a 2% interest rate. It also factors in 1% of the median house sale price to account for ownership costs such as maintenance and council rates.

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“Record-low interest rates, combined with some of the most affordable housing in the country, has led to a surge of Perth suburbs becoming more affordable to buy in than rent,” Collins said. “Once buyers have saved a deposit, the decision to buy a property is more financially advantageous than renting in these suburbs.”

Top 10 affordable Perth suburbs