SINGLETON and Muswellbrook have topped the list of regional towns where it's cheaper to buy a house than rent in 2020.
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Mortgage broker Aussie's latest Buy vs Rent report named Singleton council area in the top 10 suburbs in regional NSW where units have the lowest median value, but highest rents.
The median value of a Singleton unit stands at $238,325 according to Aussie, and the monthly repayments for that property are $981 for a variable rate loan and $831 for a 3-year fixed rate loan.
According to the report, the monthly rental cost for a Singleton unit at that price is much higher at $1,351. That's a $370 and $520 difference respectively on your monthly mortgage repayments vs renting.
It's a similar picture in neighbouring Muswellbrook, however they made the list for houses, not units.
The report states the median value of a Muswellbrook house is $250,133 and the monthly rental cost is $1,688, however the monthly repayments on a variable and 3-year fixed rate loan are $1,030 and $872 - a monthly saving of $658 and $816.
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Record-low mortgage rates due to the economic impact of Covid-19 has obviously impacted this year's statistics.
The fall in commodity prices for thermal-coal have also resulted in a slow downturn in house prices since 2016, with smaller mining towns such as Muswellbrook and Singleton experiencing a sharper fall than larger suburbs with bigger populations.
However Aussie states the main driver of mortgage repayments on a house becoming cheaper than renting has been the trend towards lower interest rates, while for units this trend has been compounded by the fact that rents have risen at a faster pace than values over the past year.
CoreLogic, the leading property data provider in Australia, released their Best of the Best 2020 Report on Thursday and Singleton and Muswellbrook also made numerous lists.
Singleton was listed among the top 10 towns in regional NSW which have seen the greatest change in rent prices over the past months with a 9.1 per cent increase and a median rental price of $313 a week.
Singleton also has one of the highest rental yields for units at 6.5 per cent, however Muswellbrook takes the cake, topping the rental yields category at 8 per cent.
It's unsure how long these record lows will last, with CoreLogic's Head of Research Australia Eliza Owen stating they are expecting an economic bounce-back in 2021.
"Record-low mortgage rates will likely be a significant tailwind for property values, and may place upward pressure on prices through 2021," she said.
"Combined with a recovery in economic, some earlier factors considered a major risk to housing markets have been reduced, including the end of mortgage repayment deferrals."