Here’s an interesting point to ponder for Mount Gravatt residents and would-be residents. Given Mount Gravatt’s excellent location, just eight kilometres away from Brisbane’s CBD, recent research data shows that it is actually cheaper for people looking for property in Mount Gravatt to buy, rather than pay rent to a landlord. At Mount Gravatt, renting a unit costs a median amount of $1,918, while the mortgage repayment of the same unit would only be an estimated $1,364 per month.
RealEstate.com cites research conducted by RP Data which shows the fairly unusual discrepancy, observed in Mount Gravatt, Spring Hill, Brisbane City, and 3,227 other Australian suburbs. Apparently, it would be cheaper to take out a three-year fixed interest rate mortgage (with a 5.15% rate) on a property, than it would be to pay rent on it. Tim Lawless, RP Data’s Research Director, says that the “possible reasons for this change in fortune for potential home buyers includes a decrease of capital city home values (2.9% lower than when they peaked in October 2010), lower mortgage rates and tighter rental markets.”
Results also show that rentals are higher for apartment-style housing, and that houses are better options for those looking to purchase, rather than rent, as one moves away from the CBD. This is certainly good news for residents in 71 Queensland suburbs, including those looking for houses in Goodna, Holmview and Burleigh Waters, where mortgage repayments are also found to be significantly lower than median house rental rates.
To read more about the other places in Australia where it’s cheaper to buy rather than rent, click here.
If you are a renter and want to know how much you can afford to borrow based on your current rental payments, use this Reverse Rent Calculator.
If you want to find out how much you will need to cover your desired mortgage loan, use this Mortgage Calculator.
And if you have absolutely no idea what you can afford to borrow and pay, this Borrowing Power Calculator might be able to help.
Photo Credit: Mount Gravatt Mansfield Lions Club