WHILE the news seems to be negative in regard to the time it takes to save enough money for a deposit for a first home, there are a number of places in Australia where property is not only affordable – it’s downright cheap.

Granted, they’re not in metro areas, they’re not even on the outskirts of the city. They are small country towns located in regional areas, and the time it takes to save a 20 per cent deposit can be counted in terms of weeks and months rather than a lifetime.

According to Bankwest’s the 2nd Annual First Time Buyer Deposit Report, which used employment, wage and housing data from 544 local government areas (LGAs) to determine that nationally, first time buyers would need to save for at least 4½ years to raise a deposit to buy a house.

In fact, there are exclusive suburbs such as Peppermint Grove in Perth, which has a median house price of $3.89 million and it would take the average wage earning couple 41.8 years just to save a 20 per cent deposit.

On the flipside of that study are a number of LGAs within Australia that are a lot more affordable than Peppermint Grove. For example, in Brewarrina in NSW it may only take just over two months for a couple to save the $9,300 required to make a 20 per cent deposit on a home in that town. Or in Paroo, in south-west Queensland, it may only take around five months to save the $13,900 required for a 20 per cent deposit.

Of course, while first homebuyers may be able to afford a much cheaper house in regional areas, employment is a massive factor. Naturally, there are less jobs available in small towns – so FHBs need to think about how they will pay the mortgage off.

Top 10 cheapest LGAs for FHB (Nationally)

Local Government Area Region State Years for FTB couple to save deposit 20% Deposit (Mar 2010) Median House price $ (Mar 2010)
Brewarrina North Western NSW 0.2 9,300 46,500
Paroo South West QLD 0.4 13,900 69,500
Mount Magnet Central WA 0.5 14,500 72,500
Central Darling Far West NSW 0.5 14,200 71,000
Urana Murray NSW 0.5 14,800 74,000
Quilpie South West QLD 0.6 15,900 79,500
Dundas South Eastern WA 0.6 18,500 92,500
Peterborough Northern SA 0.6 20,300 101,500
Flinders North West QLD 0.7 21,500 107,500
Coonamble North Western NSW 0.8 18,800 94,000
NOTE: These figures are based on local incomes of potential first homebuyers – measured by census data of incomes of 25-34 year olds – along with local house and unit prices. Data has been sourced from the ABS census, the ABS Wage Cost Index with house prices from Residex.
A copy of the report is available here.