What a $500,000 home budget can get you in Cairns

Given the wave of first home buyers that should be out looking for their first home and ready to sign a contract come the October 1, I thought it might be prudent to do a quick look around for what one such buyer might find in their search in the current market.

It has felt tight on stock for a while, with little choice and plenty of competition, but I thought it might be worth looking at the actual numbers out there to see what the reality is today, particularly at a price point which for most people might see fairly achievable for a detached house – $500,000.

REIQ zone chair for Cairns Tom Quaid. Picture: Brendan Radke

Casting back all of five years ago, that was a flash brand new home in a lot of suburbs, and a less than decade old executive residence in many others.

What does that budget find you today?

Starting my search with realestate.com.au, searching Cairns from top to toe with no filter other than price, yielded 23 results. Total.

Across all suburbs, which apparently includes Kuranda, Aloomba, Babinda and as far south as East Russell.

Snipping that back to the more traditional Palm Cove to Gordonvale and we drop to less than a dozen.

278 Mccoombe Street, Westcourt, is listed for offers over $499,000

Narrow that further to actual detached houses, rather than villas in a body corporate or half a duplex, and that leaves six houses.

One of those doesn’t have a kitchen, bathroom or internal walls, which probably takes it off the list for most buying their first home – so call it five.

That’s tight, then cinching the belt another four notches after.

If you’re after a home with your own backyard, no body corporate and a less than half hour commute, you’re in for an adventure when it comes to getting on the property ladder for under half a million. Phew.

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15 Rambutan Close, Manoora, is listed for offers over $474,000

Absent a time machine, what are your options then?

Opening up your options to units (of all sizes and ilks) adds about 100 properties to the list, but many of these are one bedroom, studios or not suitable for owner occupation. Serviceability (your ability to pay off a given loan) notwithstanding, this is where the broadened deposit guarantee scheme is going to be very important.

The difference in deposit between a $500,000 home and a $600,000 home is going to be $5000. That’s it.

Still a sum to save, and paying interest on an extra $100,000 is nothing to be scoffed at, but the pace of the market is well and truly outrunning income growth (and there’s no signs of that changing).

In the meantime, if the budget is tight and you’re determined house-first. Be prepared, and be quick.

The post What a $500,000 home budget can get you in Cairns appeared first on realestate.com.au.