Where you can buy a freestanding house for less than $500,000

The price of a typical house in Australia’s capital cities has surpassed a million dollars, but that doesn’t mean you need to move to the sticks for an affordable freestanding home.

Property prices reached a new record high in September according to the latest PropTrack Home Price Index, with the price of a median capital city house now sitting at $1.1 million.

So to get a decent property for half the price, how many sacrifices are required?

Perhaps not as many as you think. If you’re prepared to consider these locations, you can get a home for less than $500,000. You could even secure a home with water views.

Southern gems 

Tasmania’s property prices draw first-home buyers and investors looking for quality freestanding homes.

In Devonport there’s still a chance to secure something for less than $500,000, but you’ll have to be quick. In the range up to $500,000, Brad Green of Halliwell Property Agents said he had seen a lift of 10% in the past six months alone.

For those seeking something “under 500” it was still possible to get “something neat and tidy inside and out, but buyers would likely need additional funds to make improvements. 

One listing at 82 Nicholls Street, priced at $465,000 with retro carpet and timber wall cladding, could easily be turned into a stylish mid-century dwelling.

He didn’t expect it to hang around and said Devonport was “flying” thanks to council spending on infrastructure, a new hotel in the region and proximity to beaches. 

Mr Green said most of his enquiries were coming from buyers’ agents across the country and although first-home buyers wanted in on the action, “first-home buyer contracts can drag on for months,” and those who are prepared to pay cash could get a better price in exchange for a quick sale. 

“Best kept secret”: Rare, affordable beach houses

If you haven’t heard of Golden Beach in Victoria’s Gippsland region, you’re not alone.

William Tanner of Golden Beach Real Estate says it’s “Victoria’s best kept secret”. It’s true, because you can secure a beach house here for less than $400,000.

One recent listing at 15 Ocean Court, priced at $380,000 was, “Pretty standard for a two-to-three bedroom, two streets back from the beach,” he said. 

Golden Beach, on one of the many spots along Ninety Mile Beach has remained immune to dramatic price hikes. Mr Tanner said prices had been stable for the past 12-18 months.

The buyer market is mostly holiday makers and investors providing short term accommodation. About half an hour from Sale, it’s not too remote. 

If you prefer to be warmer all year around, head up north to Mackay where you can secure houses and semi-detached properties for less than half a million. 

In the heart of town, Guardian Real Estate has a two-bedroom cottage at 18 George Street on the market for $449,000. It needs some love, but it’s ripe with potential and close to the water. 

If you’d rather secure land to build your dream beach house on, you can pursue large plots of elevated land, with impressive coastal views, just north of Mackay, for $125,000. 

Regional centres are hot 

In Perth, the regions are thriving too, with PropTrack data recently showing Spalding in WA was the number one location for investors nationally, with an accessible median of $398,000, solid 12-month growth and a strong rental yield. 

Over in Rangeway, a suburb of Geraldton, a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home at 8 Carter Street is on the market for $495,000. It has a patio, deck, double carport and parking for three cars. Plus it’s just moments from the ocean. But if you need to head to Perth, it’s a four-hour drive. 

In New South Wales, there are still properties listed for less than $500,000 – although not many – and if you’re looking for a house on land you may need to compromise, even in the regions.

Grant Maskill-Dowton of Rain & Horne Bathurst said freestanding homes in the sub $500,000 range are, “in need of repair” because they were often 1950s ex-government fibro homes. 

He recently sold a property for $495,000, close to Bathurst’s town centre. “It had been sub-divided and had no backyard. It was very liveable, but small,” he said. 

Bathurst has a lot going for it, with a good hospital and university,  reasonable proximity to Sydney, a very low rental vacancy rate and strong first home buyer interest.

Because of this, Mr Maskill-Dowton said “demand is stupidly high” and added that residents can get to Sydney in less than three hours.

He admitted houses under $500,000 were few and far between, but “Units are readily available around the $500 bracket.” 

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