We've all heard about the tree-change trend in the years since 2020. But for every city escapee, there are still many more who prioritise living close to a city – whether it's for work, entertainment, education or just the lure of bright lights.
The closer to the city a suburb is, generally the more it costs to buy a home there.
But there are areas in Australia's five largest capitals where the median house or unit price is less than the city's overall median – and plenty of them are within 20 kilometres of the big smoke.
A new analysis of PropTrack data shows 84 suburbs across Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth are within 20km of each city's CBD and have house prices less than their respective capital's overall median.
In Sydney, there is only one suburb priced less than the overall median house price within 20km of the city centre, but there are nine more within 30km.
For units, the odds of finding an affordable property within spitting distance of the CBD are much better – even with the parameters brought down to 10km in Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne; and 15km in Sydney.
There are 118 suburbs which fit the criteria for units across the five cities – all of them with median unit prices less than the overall unit median for each city.
The analysis considered PropTrack median house and unit prices from the 12 months to June 2025 and included suburbs with 30 property sales or more in the year. It then filtered suburbs by location using ABS maps.
The cheapest suburb for houses within 20km of one of the five largest Aussie capitals is Adelaide's Woodville Gardens, which sits just 10.2kms from the city and has a median house price of $550,000 – $311,000 less than Adelaide's overall median house price of $861,000.
The closest relatively affordable suburb to a CBD for house prices is also in Adelaide – Mansfield Park is just 3.3kms from the heart of the city and has a median house price of $775,500.
In fact, Adelaide has the most affordable inner suburbs of the five cities for houses – 33 of them meeting the criteria. Perth takes the second spot with 30 suburbs in a 20km radius of the CBD where median house prices are less than the city's overall median ($847,000).
Lockridge, 12.8km north east of the city is the cheapest of those, with a median house price of $585,000 – $262,000 less than Perth's overall median house price. Rivervale in the south east is the closest to Perth's CBD (6.3kms) and also the most expensive of the relatively affordable, with a median of $835,000.
Proximity and price don't always correlate in this way, however, for example in Nollamara 8.8km from Perth house prices are $670,000, while Parkwood 15.1km from the city has a median of $812,000.
Similarly in Melbourne, the cheapest inner 'burb for houses is Fawkner where a typical house costs $766,500 – compared with the city's overall median house price of $902,000. But it is also among the closest on the list, just 13.9km from the CBD.
Yes, the two most expensive on the Melbourne house list are a tad closer – West Footscray and Reservior – 12km and 13km away respectively, but the third most expensive, Gowanbrae, is also one of the most far flung at 18.1km from the city.
This again suggests affordable homes can be found in suburbs closer to inner cities – the proximity equals pricey rule doesn't always apply.
Sydney's only suburb within 20km where typical houses can be found priced under the city's overall median of $1.471 million is Lakemba, 15.7km from the CBD – however it only squeaks in with a median of $1.425 million.
Of those within 30km, none have median house prices under $1.1 million. The cheapest is Merrylands West – 29.7km out of Sydney with a median of $1,162,500.
The cheapest inner suburb in Brisbane for houses is Inala, 18.8km from the city with a median of $750,000, compared with the overall median of $998,000. The closest (and most expensive) is Oxley – 13.8km south west of the city with a median house price of $955,000.
Though Adelaide and Perth led the pack with the greatest number of cheap inner suburbs for houses, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane won the day when it came to units.
It's worth noting here that units do not just mean apartments, but also any property which is part of a strata – including townhouses and villa units.
Melbourne has the largest number of inner suburbs with unit median prices less than its overall unit price of $588,000 – 32 of them sit within a 10km radius of the Hoddle Grid.
The cheapest is Travancore 4.8km to the north west, with a median unit price of $355,000 – more than $230,000 cheaper than a typical unit Melbourne wide.
The closest is Melbourne's CBD itself, where the median unit price is $550,000, followed by the densely populated surround suburbs of Southbank (1.4km), Carlton (1.8km), North Melbourne (2.2km) and Richmond (3.9km).
Sydney's most expensive inner 'burb on the house list is its least expensive – yet most far flung – for units. A typical Lakemba unit will set you back $459,000, compared with Sydney's overall unit price of $820,000.
It's closest – Potts Point 1.6km from the CBD – is among its most expensive 'cheap' inner 'burbs at $800,000.
Spring Hill is Brisbane's cheapest inner suburb for units – $530,000 and just 1.4km from the city.
Adelaide's Kurralta Park, 4.7km from the city, is the cheapest for units there at $381,500 compared with the overall unit median of $612,000.
Perth's cheapest inner suburb for units is Glendalough, where the median is $398,500 compared with the western capital's overall unit price of $580,000.
