With interest rates low, many Australian’s are looking to transition from renting to home ownership.

Housing affordability continues to be a major challenge, however there are areas where home ownership could be a reality for renters.

CoreLogic recently released data showing that more than a third of properties across Australia had estimated mortgage repayments that were less than weekly rental repayments.

Some highlights are:

  • Regional QLD: A significant proportion of properties where mortgage repayments were less than rent were located in Queensland’s Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.
  • Darwin: 77.6% of Darwin properties have lower estimated mortgage repayments than rental costs.
  • Other Capital Cities: Hobart, Brisbane, Perth and ACT all had more than 40% of their properties where mortgage repayments were less than rent.
  • Sydney and Melbourne: At the other end of the spectrum, Sydney and Melbourne had less than 10% of their properties with lower mortgage costs than rent.

These calculations do not take into account the cost of saving for a deposit, rather, only compares the monthly mortgage repayments to rent. Whilst saving for the deposit is still a significant hurdle for prospective home-buyers, this data should give renters some options on affordable areas across the country.

If you’d like to find out how much you can borrow, please contact me at Edney Ryan Mortgage and Finance on (02) 9908 9888 or email tricia.williams@edneyryan.com.au.