Hobart and Adelaide the capital cities with most property under $400,000: RP Data

Larry SchlesingerNovember 15, 2012

Hobart is the capital city where investors are most likely to pick up a property cheaply, according to new analysis by RP Data.

Close to three-quarters (70.9%) of all house and unit sales in Hobart over the year to August were sold below $400,000, with Adelaide ranking second (58.7%) followed by Brisbane (43%) and Melbourne (36.4%).

Only a third (30.3%) of all Sydney sales were below $400,000 with Canberra ranking last with around a quarter (22.5%) below this benchmark.

The results for Hobart are not surprising, given the city had a median house price of $340,000 based on sales over the September quarter, according to the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania (REIT).

According to the REIT, the cheapest Hobart suburb is the fringe suburb of Risdon Vale, on the eastern shore of the River Derwent, where the median house price was $181,000, based on eight sales over the quarter.

The Tasmanian capital city also accounted for highest proportion of house and unit sales below $200,000, with 12.9% of sales priced below this point.

Capital City

$200,000 to $400,000

Total

Hobart

12.9%

58%

70.9%

Adelaide

6.3%

52.1%

58.7%

Brisbane

2.5%

43%

45.5%

Melbourne

1.9%

34.5%

36.4%

Darwin

5.1%

28.6%

33.7%

Sydney

2.4%

27.9%

30.3%

Canberra

1%

21.5%

22.5%

Combined caps

2.7%

34.5%

37.2%

Source: RP Data

Recent sales in Hobart below $400,000 include this attractive 1880s-built two-bedroom cottage (pictured below), which sold last month. A price has not been disclosed, but it was advertised “in the high $200,000s” and last sold for $73,500 in 1991. It sold through Ant Manton of Ray White Central Hobart. The property is bordered by walls on two sides called an “Arthur Wall” arrangement, an architectural feature used by the first settlers to extend their food growing season into winter by creating a 'warm micro-climate' between the surrounding walls.

 


 

Another period home snapped up for under $400,000 recently was this five-bedroom house on Bathurst Street (pictured below), which sold for $325,000 through Martin Waldhoff of Fall Real Estate North Hobart.

The cottage dates back to 1890 with the listing suggesting it required some renovations (“ready for an internal make over”) while photos show a barren backyard.

However, it also demonstrates the stagnancy of the Hobart market. The cottage last sold for $320,000 in May 2007, having traded for $110,000 in 1992.

At the other end of the spectrum, Sydney had the highest proportion of sales above $1 million (11.1%), followed by Melbourne (7.8%) and Perth (6.5%).

Nationally, properties that sold for between $200,000 to $400,000 accounted for the plurality, or the bulk of sales; this price bracket accounted for 41.2% of sales over the year.

Property sales between $400,000 and $600,000 accounted for 30.4% of all sales over the year, while the price bracket between $600,000 to $800,000 represented the third largest segment at 11.2%.

RP Data research analyst Cameron Kusher points out there were more sales below $200,000 (7.1%) compared with sales over $1 million.

Larry Schlesinger

Larry Schlesinger was a property writer at Property Observer

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