According to Domain, there were more than 60 properties for sale under $200,000 and a further 144 under $300,000 – a fraction of the sky-high prices seen in major cities like Sydney and Melbourne.

Wagga sales agent Grant Harris said there was a house for everyone’s budget, if buyers were willing.

“If people are prepared to start at the bottom and enter the market they can always upgrade over time,” Mr Harris said.

“You can definitely own your own home for less than it costs to rent and while you can probably rent a better house than you can afford to buy, in 20 years time you’ll have been better off to buy a cheaper house.

“Ten to 15 years ago people were buying the biggest and best and maxing out what they could afford, but a few people were coming unstuck, it’s better to have a buffer and start out cheaper.”

The cheapest houses were in the less desirable suburbs of Ashmont and Tolland, but Mr Harris pointed out Sydney’s Redfern was  once in the same boat and now commanded prices in the $1 million range.

“In the foreseeable future these places will become gentrified as the city grows and it will drive demand,” Mr Harris said. “Get in while it’s affordable.”

According to PriceFinder, the median house price at Ashmont had grown by 6.3 per cent year-on-year, while Tolland had jumped by 10.7 per cent, well above central Wagga at just 2.7 per cent.

Jacinta Kelly from John Mooney Real Estate said it wasn’t just first-home buyers looking at the cheaper properties either.

“There are some good, solid houses that would make great first homes, but there are also investors making a good return,” Ms Kelly said.

“We just sold a property for $125,000 that’s being rented for $190 per week – that’s more than $3000 in the pocket after you pay the interest on a loan. They’re brave investors now, but if Wagga gets the population boom that’s predicted in the next 20 years these places will become central to the city.”