Ballarat tops housing affordability list

By Meg Rayner
Updated November 2 2012 - 1:23pm, first published January 28 2010 - 4:37am

BALLARAT has been named the most affordable place to live in Australia.According to the sixth Demographia International Affordability Study, Ballarat topped the list of the most affordable cities to live in Australia and came in at number 200 in the world.The survey ranked housing affordability in 272 markets in six countries including Australia, the US, the UK, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand.The study revealed the median house price in Ballarat was just $224,200 - less than half Melbourne's median house price of $480,000.Ballarat Real Estate Agent Allister Morrison said there was currently lots of enthusiasm in the real estate market and positive sentiment surrounding Ballarat.''You can get a lovely house and renovate it and be right near town,'' he said.''There's also great schools, great hospitals and good employment opportunities.''The survey gave cities and towns scores between three, for affordable, and 5.1 and above for severly unaffordable, based on median house prices and gross annual median household incomes.Ballarat scored an impressive 4.9 compared to places like Darwin and the Gold Coast which both scored 8.6.

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