Which is the cheapest capital city to buy a home?

Perth remains the cheapest capital city in Australia in which to buy a house, according to new data from the Real Estate Institute of Australia.

“The Perth property market has experienced strong market conditions since the end of 2020 and there are no signs of this momentum slowing,” Real Estate Institute of Western Australia president Damian Collins wrote in a recent blog. “However, even with the price growth we have experienced since the market turned, Perth remains very affordable.”

Last month, REIA released its national Real Estate Market Facts report for the December quarter. The report found that Perth had the most affordable median house sale price of any capital city in Australia – by a good distance.

“It found the Perth median house sale price of $525,000 was the cheapest of any capital city in the country and that Perth was one of only two capital cities with a median house sale price below $600,000 (Darwin being the other at $592,500),” Collins wrote.

Sydney had the most expensive median price at $1.6 million, followed by Melbourne ($1.125 million), Canberra ($950,000), Hobart ($775,000), Brisbane ($711,000) and Adelaide ($600,000).

“The comparison between Perth’s median and the rest of the capital cities highlights how affordable our city is,” Collins wrote. “Especially when comparing to Sydney which continues to have the country’s most expensive median house sale price.

“Based on the December 2021 quarter figures, you could buy three properties at Perth’s median house sale price for the cost of just one median priced house in Sydney.”

Perth didn’t have the most affordable unit prices, however. At $415,000, Perth’s median unit sale price was more expensive than Adelaide ($412,500) and Darwin ($400,000).

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Sydney had the most expensive median unit price at $802,255, followed by Melbourne ($692,000), Canberra ($576,500), Hobart ($573,000) and Brisbane ($443,900).

Despite Perth being less affordable than Darwin and Adelaide, Collins said the data still highlighted how affordable the city was, “given four of the eight capital cities have median unit sale prices more expensive than Perth’s median house sale price.”

“While many people on the east coast are priced out of the residential sales market, that is not the case in WA,” Collins wrote. “We are very lucky that home ownership is still an achievable dream for many West Australians.”