The PRD Affordable and Liveable Property Guides 2nd Half 2019 has been released and has revealed the top 20 places to live, in relation to affordability and liveability, in Australia for both houses and units.

These guides provide valuable insights and highlights of the market and report on many key indicators to create a holistic picture of property conditions in each capital city. 

Dr Diaswati (Asti) Mardiasmo heads up the PRDnationwide Research Department and was surprised at some of the results as none of the affordable suburbs in Hobart, Perth, Adelaide, or Canberra were able to satisfy either of the guides' liveability and/or investment criteria.

"We had to go above the metro capital price in Hobart, Perth, Adelaide, and Canberra to be able to find suburbs that satisfies all of our liveability, investment, property growth, and project development criteria," said Dr Mardiasmo to WILLIAMS MEDIA.

"This suggests that residents of these capital cities have to choose between affordability vs liveability, whereby if they want to live in places with high liveability, they would have to sacrifice on affordability.

"We consider this quite surprising as some may think that its places like Sydney and Melbourne where one would have to sacrifice affordability for liveability, however it's quite the opposite.

"This is because in a city like Sydney and Melbourne many infrastructure, commercial precincts, industrial parks, amenities (hospital, schools, green space, etc) have already been established in a wide range of suburbs / pockets within the city, thus when there is a market cooling / decline in prices these suburbs become more affordable and opens up more opportunities for residents. In other cities this is not the case – property prices might be lower, however infrastructure / commercial hubs / amenities / facilities is not yet widely spread / available."

According to the PRD report for houses Adelaide and its suburbs such as North Plympton, Wynn Vale and Sheidow Park  gives more 'bang for your buck' for home owners and investors alike due to the lowest median prices and highest rental yields.

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Source: PRD Affordable & Liveable Property Guide 2nd Half 2019

It was also the only state to record positive growth in first home buyer loans in the 12 months to Q2 2019.

There were several other surprise findings in the 2nd Half 2019 report including almost all affordable and liveable suburbs identified in Brisbane were found solely on the northside.

These included the suburbs of Ferny Grove, Boondall and Griffin.

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Lot 149 Brays Road, Griffin is for sale through Neil O'Brien of PRDNationwide. Photo: The Home Page

This contrasts with the 1st Half 2019 report, where affordable and liveable suburbs were found across different parts of Brisbane.

Other affordable and liveable suburbs in different capital cities were spread geographically, thus only residents of Brisbane were restricted in choice of affordable and liveable suburbs.

"In Perth you can still find (suburbs of high affordability and liveability) within 10km from the CBD, " said Dr Mardiasmo to WILLIAMS MEDIA.

These suburbs included Sheidow Park, Canning Vale, Stirling Karringyup.

Many capital cities experienced market cooling between 2018 and 2019, which meant many suburbs recorded negative growth so suburbs with price growth as close as possible to neutral (i.e. zero) were considered in choosing affordable and liveable suburbs.

None of the affordable suburbs in Hobart, Perth, Adelaide, or Canberra were able to satisfy either the liveability and/or investment criteria.

This suggests that residents of these cities need to sacrifice on affordability to ensure liveability and/or investment potential.

For first home buyers the report found there was hope for this demographic, especially in Melbourne, Brisbane and Hobart.

The lowest price range (of less than $500,000 in Melbourne and Brisbane and less than $350,000 in Hobart), has truly opened for first home buyers.

The report indicates that now is an ideal time for first home buyers in these capital cities to enter the market.

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