Cheap housing is getting harder to find, with only 13 suburbs now left within a 20km radius of Brisbane's central business district with a median house price under $300,000.
The cheapest suburb is Carole Park in Ipswich, according to Colliers PRD research. It offers bargains for home hunters, with the median house price only $183,000.
Researcher Jonathan Rivera, from Colliers PRD, said 73 suburbs within a 20km radius of the centre of Brisbane had a median house price of less than $400,000.
Regions south of Brisbane are classed as the most affordable.
At Gailes in Ipswich, the median house price is $205,000, while at Inala, in southwest Brisbane, buyers can find a property for $215,000.
"Prices within a 5-10km radius of Brisbane are becoming out of reach for many," Mr Rivera said.
The affordable areas identified were also achieving a good yield (annual rent as a proportion of selling price), he said.
"Investors are basically in competition with first-home buyers in those areas," he said. "A lot of these areas, like Carole Park, have a strong employment node nearby. Again that's attracting renters, which creates strong demand.
"The number of (affordable) suburbs is going to continue to shrink."
Centenary First National agent Tony Bishop said Carole Park was experiencing unprecedented interest from first-home buyers.
He recently sold a four-bedroom house in Skepper St in just two days for $265,000.
"Houses in places like Carole Park are selling in the mid-$200,000s and they are affordable," he said.
"We've got stacks of buyers around looking for properties under $300,000 and as soon as you get them, they're gone."
Richardson & Wrench Real Estate agent Shelly Smith said houses in Strathpine, just north of Brisbane, were selling rapidly.
"Usually within 24 hours to a week they're under contract," she said.
"We don't have enough houses to sell for the list of buyers we have."Source: Sunday Mail
