Brisbane's Most Affordable Suburbs by Proximity to the City

Reporter - Jim Malo

Some of Brisbane’s smallest pockets offer the best value for prospective property buyers, according to a new Domain data crunch, which has revealed the cheapest suburbs closest to the CBD.

Those willing to go more than 10 kilometres out have plenty of choices when it comes to affordable suburbs, and still have to access the city and highways to the Sunshine and Gold Coasts – if you know where to look.

Suburbs less than 10 kilometres from the CBD

In Brisbane, buyers can get their hands on the keys for a house below the city median of $566,058 in Keperra, which has a median of $541,500.

The suburb is out to the west towards Ferny Grove and Mitchelton, and shares their access to the city via the train line.

“There’s an express line, which means you skip about five stations and you always get a seat,” Harcourts Solutions’ Christine McKay said.

Growth in the area was driven by first-time buyers, she added. “We’ve got a mixture of homes where the lowest-priced is about $450,000 to $480,000, and then we’re selling higher-end homes that are about $700,000.”

For units, Milton and Moorooka were cheapest with medians of $363,750 and $367,500 respectively.

Milton is just two kilometres from the city centre and below the city-wide median of $369,882.

Suburbs 10 to 20 kilometres from the CBD

In the next band, buyers can continue to stay close to the city and pick up a bargain in suburbs like Zillmere, which has a median of $340,000 for units.

The suburb is just a few kilometres from Chermside, home to one of Brisbane’s largest shopping centres.

Remax U agent Bruce Petterson said the affordable suburb was attracting value buyers sick of sitting in traffic on their commute to work.

“You’ve got the Zillmere train station and buses that go up and down Zillmere Road,” he said. “As time goes on people are waking up to the idea that the Gympie Road commute is a bit of a nightmare, so they’re opting for public transport.”

Those looking for houses will have to go to fringe suburbs like Inala and Durack, all of which have medians well below that of the city.

Suburbs 20 to 30 kilometres from the CBD

Logan and Ipswich council areas hold most of the suburbs with the lowest medians for houses in Brisbane, and take up most of this 10-kilometre-ring as well.

Kingston was the most affordable at $325,000, which is a lower price than most inner-Brisbane units fetch.

Ray White Logan‘s Chris Liu said the area was much cheaper than some neighbouring suburbs.

“The location is pretty good, and you can go to the other side of the highway and prices double, so it’s a very good deal,” he said. “It’s 25 minutes to the CBD and 35 minutes to the Gold Coast.”

Buyers looking for affordable units should head up the Bruce Highway towards Mango Hill and Kallangur, or even Redcliffe if a sea-change is more your thing.

Suburbs 30 to 40 kilometres from the CBD

Eagleby, on the far side of Logan, is home to extremely affordable units. The median price there is $252,000.

Deception Bay, on the way out to Caboolture, was close behind with a median of $260,000.

Morayfield proved to be a great suburb for bargain buyers, showing up in the list for both units and houses, with medians of $325,000 and $359,000 respectively.

The cheapest median for houses 30 to 40 kilometres from Brisbane was Raceview near Ipswich at $338,000.

Source - Domain.com.au