When 20-year-old Chelsea Newbery was thinking about getting into the property market, she quickly realised there were few affordable options.
"Going into it, the prices were a bit of a shock," Ms Newbery said.
Ms Newbery wanted a house so she could also be the owner of a block of land, with plenty of space.
But she was limited by her current budget to one-bedroom apartments.
It was a compromise she decided she was not willing to make, and she put off the planned real estate investment.
"It does put a dent in, when you originally planned to be buying," she said.
"I'm pretty lucky because I live with my parents and I have somewhere to be while I save."
Find out the average sales and rent price for Canberra suburbs below.
'Unrealistic expectations' affecting first homebuyers
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, most first homebuyers can afford a loan of about $350,000.
And in order to avoid paying lenders mortgage insurance, people in that category should be looking for houses priced at around $500,000 or less.
When Lloyd Hendrix and Nina Vrbat had their first child, Tyler, they knew it was time to upgrade and they knew what they wanted.
"[We wanted] a minimum of three bedrooms. We were looking at entertaining areas, as well as an area for Tyler so that he could have a swing-set," Ms Vrbat said.
But after doing their research they realised the areas they were looking at were out of their price range.
"We looked at inner Belconnen, Evatt, Melba, Kaleen … and we found there was no way we could afford anything there for the same type of house or even in worse condition," Ms Vrbat said.
"We found that some houses are just terrible, but just because of the area they were going for $100,000 to $200,000 more, so we began looking further out."
Eventually, they found a place in Charnwood for $500,000.
It wasn't what they had set out to buy, but it suited them perfectly.
Real estate agent Alyson Azzopardi said that in her experience, many first homebuyers started out with unrealistic expectations that were soon quashed by the Canberra market.
"First homebuyers tend to have a bigger checklist than what they did 10 years ago," Ms Azzopardi said.
"They appear to be less compromising."
There are a few suburbs where the median house price is around $500,000 — and they are exclusively in the outer reaches of Canberra.
According to CoreLogic data released earlier this year, Belconnen had the cheapest median house price at $375,000, followed by Charnwood ($458,000), Banks ($488,500) and Phillip ($490,000).
It is also not uncommon to find houses under that mark in suburbs like Holt, Macgregor and Ngunnawal.
Real estate agent Rina Jones said those looking to get into the market should be prepared as they began the process to ensure they got what they wanted.
"First homebuyers, do your due diligence and really research the market," Ms Jones said.
"Get your pre-approval sorted nice and early, so you know what you can afford and avoid that disappointment when you actually do go and find the perfect property."
Take a look at how much houses and units cost in Canberra:
| Suburb | Property Type | Median sales price | Median asking rent |
| Ainslie | House | $1,102,500 | $650 |
| Ainslie | Unit | N/A | $640 |
| Amaroo | House | $685,000 | $570 |
| Amaroo | Unit | $490,000 | $480 |
| Aranda | House | $895,000 | $650 |
| Aranda | Unit | N/A | N/A |
| Banks | House | $488,500 | $460 |
| Banks | Unit | $419,000 | $430 |
| Barton | House | N/A | $700 |
| Barton | Unit | $615,000 | $550 |
| Belconnen | House | $375,000 | $400 |
| Belconnen | Unit | $366,000 | $410 |
| Bonner | House | $630,000 | $590 |
| Bonner | Unit | $460,000 | $465 |
| Bonython | House | $655,000 | $500 |
| Bonython | Unit | $500,000 | $475 |
| Braddon | House | $735,000 | $560 |
| Braddon | Unit | $430,000 | $485 |
| Bruce | House | $790,250 | $625 |
| Bruce | Unit | $375,000 | $420 |
| Calwell | House | $591,500 | $485 |
| Calwell | Unit | $395,000 | $430 |
| Campbell | House | $1,250,000 | $730 |
| Campbell | Unit | $415,000 | $540 |
| Casey | House | $621,500 | $550 |
| Casey | Unit | $412,000 | $440 |
| Chapman | House | $867,500 | $675 |
| Chapman | Unit | N/A | N/A |
| Charnwood | House | $458,000 | $470 |
| Charnwood | Unit | N/A | $420 |
| Chifley | House | $750,000 | $590 |
| Chifley | Unit | $385,000 | $390 |
| Chisholm | House | $595,000 | $500 |
| Chisholm | Unit | N/A | N/A |
| City | House | N/A | N/A |
| City | Unit | $446,500 | $600 |
| Conder | House | $580,000 | $500 |
| Conder | Unit | $465,000 | N/A |
| Cook | House | $776,000 | $530 |
| Cook | Unit | $596,000 | $448 |
| Coombs | House | $777,500 | $620 |
| Coombs | Unit | $486,500 | $490 |
| Crace | House | $815,000 | $600 |
| Crace | Unit | $380,000 | $420 |
| Curtin | House | $900,000 | $620 |
| Curtin | Unit | N/A | $383 |
| Deakin | House | $1,200,000 | $793 |
| Deakin | Unit | $785,000 | $660 |
| Denman Prospect | House | $650,000 | N/A |
| Denman Prospect | Unit | N/A | N/A |
| Dickson | House | $840,000 | $575 |
| Dickson | Unit | $424,950 | $418 |
| Downer | House | $819,500 | $580 |
| Downer | Unit | N/A | $410 |
| Duffy | House | $682,500 | $550 |
| Duffy | Unit | N/A | $450 |
| Dunlop | House | $580,000 | $530 |
| Dunlop | Unit | N/A | N/A |
| Evatt | House | $595,000 | $510 |
| Evatt | Unit | N/A | $410 |
| Fadden | House | $750,000 | $650 |
| Fadden | Unit | N/A | N/A |
| Farrer | House | $887,500 | $640 |
| Farrer | Unit | N/A | $380 |
| Fisher | House | $655,000 | $530 |
| Fisher | Unit | $327,000 | N/A |
| Florey | House | $621,000 | $495 |
| Florey | Unit | $407,000 | $440 |
| Flynn | House | $605,000 | $580 |
| Flynn | Unit | N/A | N/A |
| Forde | House | $792,000 | $650 |
| Forde | Unit | $566,000 | $545 |
| Forrest | House | $2,271,750 | $1,100 |
| Forrest | Unit | $677,500 | $570 |
| Franklin | House | $683,500 | $600 |
| Franklin | Unit | $379,750 | $430 |
| Fraser | House | $740,000 | $535 |
| Fraser | Unit | N/A | N/A |
| Fyshwick | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Garran | House | $1,025,000 | $693 |
| Garran | Unit | $590,000 | $550 |
| Gilmore | House | $555,000 | $550 |
| Gilmore | Unit | N/A | N/A |
| Giralang | House | $682,500 | $493 |
| Giralang | Unit | N/A | N/A |
| Gordon | House | $552,500 | $500 |
| Gordon | Unit | $400,000 | $420 |
| Gowrie | House | $640,000 | $560 |
| Gowrie | Unit | N/A | N/A |
| Greenway | House | N/A | $460 |
| Greenway | Unit | $395,000 | $420 |
| Griffith | House | $1,380,000 | $800 |
| Griffith | Unit | $450,000 | $470 |
| Gungahlin | House | $725,000 | $573 |
| Gungahlin | Unit | $364,950 | $450 |
| Hackett | House | $842,500 | $650 |
| Hackett | Unit | N/A | $330 |
| Hall | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Harrison | House | $765,250 | $610 |
| Harrison | Unit | $387,000 | $435 |
| Hawker | House | $651,000 | $580 |
| Hawker | Unit | $243,900 | $360 |
| Higgins | House | $552,500 | $500 |
| Higgins | Unit | N/A | N/A |
| Holder | House | $671,000 | $595 |
| Holder | Unit | $487,000 | $463 |
| Holt | House | $505,000 | $470 |
| Holt | Unit | $374,250 | $380 |
| Hughes | House | $950,000 | $600 |
| Hughes | Unit | N/A | $338 |
| Hume | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Isaacs | House | $821,000 | $675 |
| Isaacs | Unit | N/A | $515 |
| Isabella Plains | House | $566,250 | $500 |
| Isabella Plains | Unit | $401,000 | $420 |
| Jacka | House | N/A | N/A |
| Jacka | Unit | N/A | $433 |
| Kaleen | House | $735,000 | $540 |
| Kaleen | Unit | $400,500 | $470 |
| Kambah | House | $539,000 | $500 |
| Kambah | Unit | $405,000 | $420 |
| Kingston | House | $690,000 | $620 |
| Kingston | Unit | $495,000 | $530 |
| Latham | House | $555,500 | $500 |
| Latham | Unit | N/A | N/A |
| Lawson | House | N/A | $650 |
| Lawson | Unit | $480,000 | $530 |
| Lyneham | House | $737,500 | $600 |
| Lyneham | Unit | $410,000 | $435 |
| Lyons | House | $770,000 | $550 |
| Lyons | Unit | $427,500 | $380 |
| Macarthur | House | $726,500 | N/A |
| Macarthur | Unit | N/A | N/A |
| Macgregor | House | $511,750 | $490 |
| Macgregor | Unit | $400,500 | $430 |
| Macquarie | House | $672,500 | $540 |
| Macquarie | Unit | $412,000 | $393 |
| Mawson | House | $770,000 | $550 |
| Mawson | Unit | $407,000 | $393 |
| Mckellar | House | $713,000 | $555 |
| Mckellar | Unit | N/A | N/A |
| Melba | House | $595,000 | $520 |
| Melba | Unit | $397,500 | $445 |
| Mitchell | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Monash | House | $615,000 | $510 |
| Monash | Unit | $460,000 | $470 |
| Moncrieff | House | $733,666 | $640 |
| Moncrieff | Unit | $535,000 | $490 |
| Narrabundah | House | $940,000 | $600 |
| Narrabundah | Unit | $440,000 | $455 |
| Ngunnawal | House | $513,500 | $480 |
| Ngunnawal | Unit | $429,500 | $440 |
| Nicholls | House | $835,000 | $650 |
| Nicholls | Unit | $605,000 | $510 |
| Oaks Estate | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Oxley | House | $533,000 | $540 |
| Oxley | Unit | N/A | N/A |
| Page | House | $616,000 | $495 |
| Page | Unit | $400,000 | $440 |
| Palmerston | House | $624,444 | $520 |
| Palmerston | Unit | $409,250 | $440 |
| Pearce | House | $820,000 | $600 |
| Pearce | Unit | $485,500 | $425 |
| Phillip | House | $490,000 | $505 |
| Phillip | Unit | $399,500 | $420 |
| Pialligo | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Red Hill | House | $1,482,500 | $850 |
| Red Hill | Unit | N/A | $420 |
| Reid | House | N/A | N/A |
| Reid | Unit | $442,500 | $430 |
| Richardson | House | $547,000 | $450 |
| Richardson | Unit | N/A | N/A |
| Rivett | House | $618,000 | $500 |
| Rivett | Unit | N/A | N/A |
| Scullin | House | $585,000 | $480 |
| Scullin | Unit | $370,000 | $390 |
| Spence | House | $600,000 | $518 |
| Spence | Unit | N/A | N/A |
| Stirling | House | $790,000 | $560 |
| Stirling | Unit | N/A | N/A |
| Symonston | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Taylor | House | $365,000 | N/A |
| Taylor | Unit | N/A | N/A |
| Tharwa | House | N/A | N/A |
| Theodore | House | $546,000 | $460 |
| Theodore | Unit | $400,000 | N/A |
| Throsby | House | $746,000 | $620 |
| Throsby | Unit | N/A | N/A |
| Torrens | House | $810,000 | $625 |
| Torrens | Unit | N/A | $480 |
| Turner | House | $1,227,500 | $650 |
| Turner | Unit | $502,000 | $498 |
| Uriarra Village | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Wanniassa | House | $580,000 | $520 |
| Wanniassa | Unit | $410,000 | $390 |
| Waramanga | House | $709,000 | $525 |
| Waramanga | Unit | N/A | N/A |
| Watson | House | $760,500 | $540 |
| Watson | Unit | $375,000 | $420 |
| Weetangera | House | $812,500 | $600 |
| Weetangera | Unit | N/A | $450 |
| Weston | House | $687,000 | $550 |
| Weston | Unit | $580,000 | $428 |
| Wright | House | $811,000 | $740 |
| Wright | Unit | $400,000 | $450 |
| Yarralumla | House | $1,515,000 | $795 |
| Yarralumla | Unit | $930,000 | $495 |
