Can you still buy a 'cheap' house in Melbourne? It's a fair question, given how much attention the city's recent property price growth and increase in million dollar suburbs have attracted. 

The answer is certainly yes. New REIV median house price data shows there are still many affordable suburbs in the city – suburbs offering first home buyers and those with limited budgets a foothold in the property market and with the potential to increase in value. 

In Melbourne's cheapest suburbs such as Melton it is still possible to buy a house for less than $300,000 and several suburbs, including Frankston North, Melton South and Millgrove, recorded a median below $250,000 in the first three months of this year. In Melton South the median house price was just $222,500. 

In Melton West, where there were substantially more sales, the median house price was $290,000. And although Cranbourne just tipped over the $300,000 mark with a median of $313,750, 25 per cent of all sales in the suburb were for less than $291,250.

Others on the affordable list were: Wyndham Vale, Hoppers Crossing, Truganina, Carrum Downs, St Albans, Pakenham and Craigieburn. 

Many of these suburbs have better, newer amenities and more open space than suburbs closer to the CBD, and fabulous, high-quality homes. The only reason for the slower price growth, to date, has been their distance from the city centre. Yet prices remain relatively low, in comparison to the current Melbourne median house price of $652,500. 

Cheaper homes also provide a great opportunity to add value. Thornbury is a perfect example – previously an affordable area, its period homes have been renovated as young families have moved into the area, and its median house price has grown from $323,000 in 2002 to $850,000 today. 

Location factors may also hold down house prices. But research can reveal plans for the area which may boost them. Northcote, where a park now stands on what was once a rubbish tip, is a good example - with nearby homes now transformed into park-side classics. The suburb’s median price has also risen significantly with two-bedroom homes that sold a decade ago for just over $350,000, selling for almost $800,000 today. 

Buyers researching their home purchase, or those interested to discover out what's happening in their suburb can check out this median house price data here. 

Also on our website, as a service to homebuyers, is data for houses and units by suburb and number of bedrooms. This is a useful starting point for those house hunting or thinking of selling – though many other factors such as location and house quality determine the actual selling price. Click on a suburb on the map and all the information about it will appear. Click here to start browsing now.