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Riverview resident Telita Webb with two of her children, Margaret (5) and MJ (7). Picture: AAP/David Clark.

SUBURBS with a median house price of $300,000 or less are on the verge of extinction across Brisbane.

Figures from property researcher CoreLogic show house prices in some of the city’s most affordable postcodes experienced above average growth over the past year, leading to a drop in sales at lower price points.

Only 1.7 per cent of properties in Brisbane changed hands for less than $200,000 in 2018.

In 2019, there are no longer any suburbs in the Brisbane local government area with a median house price of $300,000 or less.

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This two-bedroom house at 21 Sinclair St, Ellen Grove, recently sold for just $222,000.

Across Greater Brisbane, there are now only 19 mainland suburbs with a median house price under $300,000, whereas there were double that number a decade ago.

The last affordable havens can be found in the Ipswich suburbs of Riverview, Dinmore and One Mile, in the Logan locations of Kingston, Logan Central and Woodridge and in Caboolture South in Moreton Bay.

The median house price in Greater Brisbane is now $532,000, according to CoreLogic.

More than a third of sales in Brisbane during 2018 were between $400,000 and $600,000, while 7.8 per cent were at $1 million or more.

CoreLogic senior analyst Cameron Kusher said that was a drastic change from the state of affairs over the past couple of decades, with the majority of sales in 1993 and 1998 coming in below $200,000.

“Over time, there has been a steady climb in the share of sales across the more expensive price points,” Mr Kusher said.

“While you’d expect this in the markets that have seen strong value growth such as Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart, we have also seen it across markets where value growth has been much weaker.”

CoreLogic senior research analyst Cameron Kusher. Picture: David Clark.

Mr Kusher said that even though he expected slightly more sales to occur at lower price points over the next year, he did not expect any material change in the share of sales under $200,000 — in fact they may reduce even further.

Real Estate Institute of Queensland chief executive Antonia Mercorella said Brisbane still had plenty of affordable suburbs with good quality housing compared to Sydney and Melbourne.

“We have so many affordable options in really high growth suburbs,” Ms Mercorella said.

“They’re not going to run out tomorrow.

“And many are still within a 12km to 15km radius of the city, which is pretty mind-blowing compared with Sydney and Melbourne.”

REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella. Photo: Claudia Baxter.

Ms Mercorella said Brisbane’s affordable havens provided great opportunities for entry level property buyers.

“Many people assume a $300,000 house must be a dump, but that’s just not the case in the southeast corner,” she said.

“Low price does not mean low quality.”

Nick Kruger, principal of Your Haven Realty, said there were still plenty of opportunities for first home buyers to get a foot on the property ladder in Riverview, which has the cheapest median house price in Greater Brisbane.

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Mr Kruger said that he had noticed a shift in the buyer profile in the market as a result of the banks cracking down on lending.

“Predominantly, in the past, investors were snapping up these properties for their SMSF because of the good rental returns,” Mr Kruger said.

“Now the banks have cracked down, that’s incentivising a market change.

“It’s better for owner-occupiers now, because they have a chance to get it over investors.

“But in time, obviously these prices will jump so the sooner you can get in, the better.”

This house at 57 Price St, Riverview, is on the market for offers over $245,000.

He is marketing a three-bedroom house at 57 Price St, Riverview, which is currently leased for $290 a week and is on the market for offers over $245,000.

“That’s a good figure for an investor,” Mr Kruger said.

“At that price point, for a three-bedder on a 600 sqm plus block so close to Redbank Plaza and within 5 minutes walk of sought-after schools, I definitely it’s ideal for first home buyers or young families.”

Single parent Telita Webb has rented the home with three of her children for the past year, but would love to buy the property if she could afford the deposit.

“I love the place; Riverview’s my home,” Ms Webb said.

Chris and Tiffany Campbell live in Bundamba, which is one of greater Brisbane’s last affordable havens — just scraping in with a median house price of $292,752.

The couple are renovating a turn-of-the-century Queenslander, which they recently bought for $315,000.

“Bundamba has a bad wrap; I’m not sure why,” Mrs Campbell said.

“The street we live in is so quiet and full of beautiful, old Queenslanders, and you can see the growth potential.

“I think it is one of those places a lot of people forget about.”

They sold another property last year that they had bought and renovated two years earlier in North Ipswich and made more than $100,000 in profit.

we knew going into it and paying price we did in an up andcoming suburb it was going to be a good investment

Chris and Tiffany Campbell have owned a number of homes across Brisbane’s affordable havens. They have renovated them and sold for a profit. Picture: AAP/David Clark.

Propertyology managing director Simon Pressley said Ipswich was becoming a popular location for property investors because of its affordability, solid rental yields and good infrastructure.

But Mr Pressley said he was not convinced the region had the ability to create the volume of jobs required to put pressure on the local labour market and drive property prices significantly higher.

“One could do worse than investing in Ipswich, however, my overall rating of the Ipswich property market is a middle-of-the-road performer for the feasible future,” Mr Pressley said.

THE SUB $300,000 SUBURBS ON THE VERGE OF EXTINCTION IN 2019:

Suburb Region Median house Change in median Change in median

price Mar 2019 12 mths to Nov 2018 5yrs

1. Riverview Ipswich $256,787 -2.3% 13.7%

2. Dinmore Ipswich $259,481 9.0% 35.2%

3. One Mile Ipswich $260,181 0.0% 15.9%

4. Leichhardt Ipswich $264,565 2.1% 22.5%

5. Rosewood Ipswich $273,359 6.9% 19.2%

6. Logan Central Logan $273,541 -3.4% 26.1%

7. Woodridge Logan $274,352 -1.3% 28.1%

8. Basin Pocket Ipswich $275,769 -4.6% 25.6%

9. Ebbw Vale Ipswich $276,599 -6.1% 20.3%

10. Kingston Logan $285,032 -2.4% 24.2%

11. Goodna Ipswich $285,329 -4.1% 10.8%

12. Tivoli Ipswich $292,168 -2.7% 8.6%

13. Bundamba Ipswich $292,752 4% 14.4%

14. North Booval Ipswich $293,058 4.6% 17.9%

15. Caboolture South Moreton Bay $293,517 0.6% 16.2%

16. Gailes Ipswich $293,572 0.7% 11.8%

17. Churchill Ipswich $295,020 1.1% 7.2%

18. East Ipswich Ipswich $297,405 13% 27.1%

19. Wulkaraka Ipswich $299,733 6% 2.6%

(Source: CoreLogic)

This article was first published in www.realestate.com.au. Here is the link to the original article: https://www.realestate.com.au/news/affordable-havens-the-sub-300000-suburbs-on-the-verge-of-extinction-in-brisbane/