Homebuyers can save as much as $830,000 off Sydney’s $1.72 million house median while staying connected to the CBD, according to new Domain analysis.
The savings are concentrated in suburbs close to the last stop on several of the city’s train lines.
Across Sydney’s nine train lines, four end-of-line stations have median house prices under $1 million: Macarthur ($905,000), Liverpool ($995,000), Richmond ($890,000), and Emu Plains ($955,000). Richmond is the cheapest, with its $890,000 median coming in $830,000 below Sydney’s overall figure.
“These suburbs offer massive value for money due to their distance from the city,” said Domain’s chief of research and economics Nicola Powell (pictured). “The value that you can get in a home further out is really showcased when you look at a train line, and ultimately, it is the whole case in point that land becomes cheaper the further you go out.”
The affordability edge is in stark contrast to metro catchments, where Cotality research shows high entry prices have capped recent growth, and Westpac forecasts Sydney’s median house price could still climb another $154,000 to about $1.68m by the end of 2026.
Powell said buyers in these areas don’t have to sacrifice public transport access when chasing affordability.
“The difference between one train line and the next stop out can be literally tens of thousands of dollars,” she said. “The thing that you are obviously compromising on is a slightly longer commute.”
From Richmond, the train trip into Sydney CBD takes around 80 minutes. Local agent Jacob Bennett of Bennett Property NSW said the suburb has drawn strong demand from younger buyers.
“People who have grown up in the city [and are] looking to buy or looking to upsize come out to places like [this],” Bennett said.
He added that downsizers from farming districts like Bilpin were also active.
“A budget of $890,000 can purchase a three-bedroom home that requires minimal renovation,” he said. “We sold one in William Cox Drive for $800,000, but that needed a lot of work to be done to it. We recently sold two three-bedroom houses in Claremont Street – 18 and 16 – for $875,000.”
Bennett expects demand to climb further with the launch of the federal government’s new first-home buyer scheme in October, which allows purchases with just a 5% deposit.
The second-most affordable end-of-line suburb is Macarthur, 60 kilometres south of Richmond, with a median house price of around $905,000. Local agent Mark Jennings of Ray White Macarthur said the commute to the CBD is under an hour, which has kept first-home buyers, families and investors interested.
“We’re probably one of the cheapest metro Sydney areas where you can jump on a train and travel to work,” Jennings said.
“For under $1 million, you can buy a 1970s home that needs a little bit of work or a smaller home that has had some updating to it,” he said. “You’re still getting a home with three beds, single garage, single bathroom on a probably 500-square-metre lot.”
Jennings said affordability has helped Macarthur’s population double over the past decade.
“It’s always been popular, and it goes through ebbs and flows, be it first-time buyers or from investors,” he said. “I’ve been in business 20 years, and to think that I was selling homes here for $350,000 … [Macarthur] certainly has seen some change.”
Jennings predicted the area’s median will climb past $1 million within a few years.
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