Specialising in Rental Property Management
Sunshine Coast

Real Estate Queensland

Real Estate Queensland

Is renting a Sunshine Coast property cheaper than buying?

Buying is cheaper than renting in an increasing number of suburbs

Commissioned initially by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the report RP Data Property Pulse confirms that over the last year to December 2008, some fundamental shifts have occurred in the Australian property markets.

This includes a moderate fall in property values, albeit by a modest 2.9 per cent during the 2008 calendar year, interest rates which have fallen to a 45-year low, and weekly rents which have recorded several years running of dramatic growth.

Mr Lawless said “The effect of these combined factors means that renters are now doing their sums to determine whether paying off a mortgage is actually going to be cheaper than paying a landlord.”

As the holder of the largest property record's database in Australia, RP Data in its latest report has was able to provide an insight into those areas where, on average, it has become more affordable to purchase a home rather than to rent it.

Nationally, the number of suburbs that fit the criteria of being cheaper to buy than rent stands at 74. The locations are relatively evenly split between regional suburbs and capital city metro areas (including Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast), with regional areas accounting for 54 per cent of the total and capital city metro areas accounting for the remaining 46 per cent.

A major difference between regional and metro locations is the types of properties that are cheaper to buy than rent. Almost without exception, within the capital city metro areas it is units rather than houses that are more affordable to buy than rent.

Mr Lawless confirmed that this is most likely due to the strong rental demand for strategically located unit dwellings which are typically located close to major transport corridors, retail centres and working nodes. In Australia’s regional locations, there are fewer unit developments and a stronger preference for living within a detached home.

The regional locations where buying is cheaper than renting are mostly in resource-intensive townships where rental rates have been driven up by strong demand for housing from mining workers. For example, townships located within Queensland’s mineral rich Bowen Basin are numerous.

On a state by state basis, the majority of these suburbs are found in New South Wales, accounting for 29 of the 74 total suburbs. 18 of the New South Wales suburbs are actually within the Sydney metro area, highlighting these areas attractiveness to buyers.

Queensland has the second highest number of suburbs that are more affordable to buy within than rent. The large majority are located outside of South East Queensland’s metro area.