Just five of Canberra's suburbs are considered affordable to purchase units in, according to new data, but that number could become higher in coming months, one expert says.
Affordability data released by CoreLogic shows territory outer suburbs of Belconnen, Hawker, Gungahlin, Lyons and Phillip had median unit prices under $500,000 in June 2024.
Lyons was the cheapest at $416,960, following a 5 per cent drop in price in the six months to June 2024.
This was closely followed by Hawker, in Belconnen, which had a median unit price of $420,916 after prices rose 0.4 per cent in the last six months.
CoreLogic's head of residential research Australia, Eliza Owen, said while the ACT had some of "the most expensive dwellings in the country", units were becoming an increasingly accessible purchase for first home owners.
Canberra unit prices dropped 1 per cent in the 2023-24 financial year from the June prior, according to CoreLogic's home value index.
Though the number is small, in comparison, Canberra house prices rose by 3.2 per cent over the same period.
"If you look at the portion of unique markets that are affordable, it is continuing to increase," Ms Owen said.
"Investor exuberance early in the pandemic has created some oversupply of dwellings in the unit sector [now on the Canberra market]."
She said given the "pipeline for construction of units is quite high" in Canberra, further downturn in price would not be surprising as supply matches demand.
Buyers' agent Ben Power, of Jonny Warren Buyers Agency, was hesitant to equate any Canberra property with affordability.
Despite the number of affordable suburbs rising, Canberra's median unit value has still risen by $135,760 from June 2019 to June 2024, according to CoreLogic.
But Mr Power said the best way to get into the housing market was to wait for an apartment in a reasonable price range.
"Now is a good time to be buying because there is plenty on the market," he said.
"The conditions are favourable for buyers. It doesn't look like the market is going to increase, so there is the opportunity to be patient and wait for the right property."
"There is lots of high density and new builds going up in [outer suburbs], so there is supply there," he said.
Mr Power said using a buyers agent or waiting for the right property to purchase meant quality apartments could become available in more desired suburbs.
He recently helped first home buyers purchase a two-bedroom unit in Griffith under budget, despite initially only considering Canberra's outer suburbs because of price.
Mr Power said there was "far more enquiry" with buyers agents than a year ago.
"At the moment, with the uncertainty around buyers markets in Canberra, it is really valuable to have a professional assisting and guiding in values of properties," he said.
He said buyers should particularly be careful of units valued at "COVID-19 prices" - which spiked at a median $609,625 for a Canberra rental in the year to June 2022, according to CoreLogic.
