The Guardian World · Oct 16, 2026

Mortgage repayments are now cheaper than rent in some Australian suburbs. Is yours among them?

As house prices plateau, the gap between the cost of buying and renting is narrowing in dozens of suburbs High rents and falling property prices have opened a rare window for Australian tenants to become homeowners, with mortgage repayments cheaper than rent in dozens of suburbs. In one in 10 suburbs and towns across the country, repayments are less than $200 a week higher than rent, for the typical property.