The Cost of Buying or Renting a House in Australia
How much does housing cost?
There are some raging debates going on over at the blog about the cost of housing here in Australia. The debate, of course, is are houses cheaper in the UK or in Australia?
Go back to 2007, for me there was no debate. Australian houses were a fair bit cheaper and much bigger. Right now, middle of 2011, there’s probably not that much in it in terms of cost, but you still get a much bigger house for your money here.
What the future holds, who knows? For those of you who are exchanging British currency from the sale of your UK home and changing it into Australian dollars to buy a house here, the exchange rate is everything. As exchange rates can change fast, how the prices compare largely depends on what day you turn up.
All you can do is shop and compare. And the best place to do that is on Australia’s number one real estate website called realestate.com.au.
It’s easy to go shopping for houses:
- Click on which state you want to live in.
- Type in the suburbs you are interested in, or highlight them from the drop-down menu.
- Then select your preferences; number of bedrooms, type of property and a minimum and maximum price.
- Hit the big red search button.
Do you want to buy or rent?
You can also search for new homes and land if you want to build a new house of your own chosen design.
Happy house hunting!
More useful links:
Some of these posts are a little out of date now, but they are still worth a look….
Australia vs England at House Prices
The Cost of Living in Australia: House Prices
The Cost of Living in Australia: House Prices Revised
The Cost of Living in Australia: House Prices Part Four
Cost of Living in Australia: Stamp Duty.
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Bob
I’m keen to take up a special VISA working as a consultant quality improvement, infection control in Perth or Melbourne.
I would appreciate it very much if you could assist or point me to the relevant contacts.
Thank you very much.
Warms Regards
Richard Sim
Actually Richard, I don’t know any contacts. But you could always check out my pages on visas and sponsorships.
Good luck!
Hi,
I’m now over here on my 457, it’s been about 3 weeks. I’m still searching for our rental property, but one of the guys in the office suggested this site as a good resource to get an idea of what property has been sold for and rented for.
http://house.ksou.cn/
Regards
Andy
Welcome to Australia Andy, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Interesting site, I am sure I have seen the design and layout somewhere before. I just can’t think where…
Hi Bob,
I’m just starting the process of getting a 175 visa, I plan to live in Melbourne as I know some people there.
I’ve always dreamed of building my own house (I’m a civil engineer and work in construction), have you got an idea what land costs are? I know that’s a very open question, depending on location etc, but any rough idea how much a decent size plot in a nice suburban area would cost, say compared to the UK?
Thanks for your site by the way, it’s really inspired me to go!
I’ve been over here 6 weeks now and have been on the hunt for rental properties. Having seen some plots of land around, i think they are about the same as in the UK. It comes down to where you want to live in Melbourne and that area will be a reflection on the price you are going to need to pay. Live further out, away from the coast and you will pay less. Want to live on the coast or in the city, and you pay more. I also think you will get more for your money than in the UK, but it’s not cheap, if that is what you are hoping/expecting. Melbourne like other Ozzie cites has had a housing boom, and prices are high, just like the UK unfortunately. Having said that prices are starting to fall, so buying now, may be a good move. Site i use to check on prices is http://www.realestate.com.au, i think you can also search for land there. Do you have any idea about where you want to be in Melbourne, its a big place. Good luck – Andy
Hi Andy,
Thanks for your reply, I’m just doing trying to get a feel for stuff at the moment.
It’s going to be 2 years min before I get my visa and am ready to come out.
My Idea is to work freelance for 6 months in Oz, 6 months in the UK, as I have a little girl (she lives with my ex) who’s 8 at the moment, I’m planning on doing that till she’s about 16 then coming over permanently. I’m thinking of slowly building up contacts, friends, maybe a bit of property over that time, so will take my time deciding exactly where to settle.
How are you finding it over there workwise?
Sean
Hi Sean
Just to let you know, Andy (thanks Andy) pointed you to exactly the same place I would have done. Just be aware that once you have bought the land, you may have to pay additional fees to the local council before you can register it for building.
Here in Brisbane, those fees used to be about $40,000 per plot, but I recently heard they have now been capped at $29,000. I have no idea what it would be in Melbourne, but you will need to find out. Here they are called “contributions to infrastructure”.
Sean,
Work here is good, (at the moment), depends on on what trade you are in. I do IT, and have done for a number of years. I specialise in the ‘Data and Information’ area, so there is alwasy plenty of that type of IT work whereever you are in the world. You might find it a lot quicker to try and go via for a 457 sponsorship, if you are in demand, skillwise, then apply for PR whilst you are overhere, (but i guess that may not work with the freelance plans). 2 years is a long time to wait, a lot can happen in that time, including another GFC, (Global Financial Crisis). Don’t underestimate the impact of China on the work equation.
Whilst i’m not trying to nose into your situation, 6 months away from your kids is asking a lot, you must really have a desire to come over here. I’m already missing my kids and i’ve only been here less than 2 months. I personally wouldn’t be able to do 6 months away, 6 months at home, as you miss so much, and kids grow up so quickly. What’s the drivers to bring you to OZ, rather than stay in the UK?
Andy
Hey Bob,
I am an Australian who’s been living in Ireland for the last 2 and 1/2 years in which i have now met someone and started a family. We are moving back to Aus and I am a little nervous about finding appropriate accommodation for rent for my family and I immediately. I know that a real estate company is unlikely to give us a lease without work references and at least 3 months employment etc and various other conditions. Do you know any way around this in, of course, the most cost effective way. And how much money do you think we will need? I am hoping to have some kind of work lined up either before I leave Ireland or at the very least interviews.
Please help, I think I am getting a little unnecessarily stressed.
Cheers
Rach
Hi Rachael
All I know at the moment is that you will need some good references, probably two, you’ll have to pay a bond, usually around
$500– correction: The deposit you have to pay to rent a flat will vary depending upon which state you move to. Typically it is 2 to 4 weeks rent in advance plus a bond equivalent to about four or six week rent.Finding out more about the rental market is on my list “to do”, so I hope to get back to you with more information soon. Promise!
Cheers
Bob
Hi Rachel
I got a little more information for you. I spoke to a woman who runs a house rentals agency and she tells me there is no clear-cut answer to how you would get accepted as a rental applicant.
The good news is you do not need at least three months employment behind you. Apparently they will want to look at your bank statements, mainly to see how much money you have brought into the country. They’ll want to know what you do for a living, that will help them assess how quickly they think you will find work and how much you will earn. They will want to take references and for that they’ll want to know who you sold your house through in England or, if you rented, your landlords details to get a reference there.
You will need to pay a bond, as mentioned above but now amended. Four weeks rent would probably be around $1600 and you also need to pay some rent in advance. The maximum legal amount of advance rent a landlord can ask for varies from state to state. 2-4 weeks is typical, but not always the case. Bonds vary too, 4 weeks being most common though. But a prospective tenant can offer more if they want to improve their chances of getting accepted.
Of course, that is all according to the person I spoke to. Whether it is true of all states in Australia or not, I don’t know. Whether it is true AT ALL or not, I don’t know either
But I do know she does really run a successful house rental agency, so I suspect she knows what she’s talking about.
Hope that helps a bit.
Hello Bob,
Happy Holidays to you and your family.
I have been searching on the net for an answer to my question and had no luck. Is it possible to purchase property in Oz and not be a citizen? Thanks, Heidi
Yes, you can, You don’t have to be an Australian citizen to buy a house. Not as I write this anyway, obviously rules can change. We bought our house as permanent residents, but I do know that non-residents of Australia need to seek permission from the relevant controlling government body if they want to buy a property.
I’m not sure if temporary residents can buy though, anybody know?
Hi me and my brother are from the UK we are both 21, come summer were moving to Australia for a year. We are both personal trainers but will pretty much do any job out there for the year providing their is a good gym for us to work out in and we can afford to live and just to see if we like the Australian life style ( pretty sure we will!!) Are their any other recommendation where you think we would enjoy????
Thanks
Jake
I reckon you’d love it anywhere near the beach, but if you like your nightlife noisy, try Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast. But if you’re coming for a year, I’d also recommend moving around a bit. Above all, have fun!
Hi Bob,
Your website and blogs are quite impressive and i must say quite addictive too…You want to visit off and on to your website which has a detailed information and also your experiences, I am currently in India, and willing to migrate to Australia. Hows the real estate business going on? I am a realtor by profession. Hope you would suggest on how do I get a job as a Real estate Sales Manager in Australia? Thanks in advance.
I have no idea Vik, but I can’t imagine it would be easy. You will need to qualify to be an Australian realtor, there is some kind of course and exam. Other than that, I can’t really help you.
Hi Bob
What a brilliant website!! Thoroughly enjoying your insights and knowledge.
My wife and I re taking the plunge and coming out to Brisbane in June. We are hoping to start by renting a furnished property but there doesn’t seem to be many furnished properties around. Apart from mainly 1 bed furnished apartments, furnished houses are very few and far between. Is this typical or are we looking on the wrong websites?
Thanks in advance
Hi Julian, thanks, glad you like it. I think you’re right, it is typical that most rentals here are unfurnished. I would imagine the best thing to do would be to register your interest with this many real estate agents as possible and to specify that you want furnished only. Sorry I can’t be more helpful, good luck!
It’s not worth buying in Adelaide. We rather rent.!
1. no capital gain in the last 2 years.
2. interest @ 5% vs. Renting and saving the difference.
3. emission Tax, new Water tax, council rates to high!
4. Cost of living goes up and up and up salary stays the same!
5. the real land value is not worth much, as population is low and a bit stagnant!
6. end up paying 1.2Million for a cheap house.
How can a 1.2 million house be cheap? It’s rhetorical question.
I’m not a fan of renting, and your list has not convinced me to change my mind. Renting is money down the drain. 25 years paying, say, $450 a week rising to, who knows? In 25 years that could be $900 a week or more. That’s about $1 million or more paid for nothing. And then you still have to rent for another 25 years.
At least when you buy a house, eventually you own it.
As for “no capital gain in the last two years” – try checking out the last 10 years and see how much you could have gained.