Cheaper to buy than rent in 13 Vic suburbs

It's cheaper to buy an apartment or house in 13 Melbourne suburbs than it is to rent one, new data shows.

Research from the Real Estate Institute of Victoria shows tenants can repay the mortgage on a $210,000 one-bedroom property in inner-city Carlton for $221 a week.

That's $135 less than the suburb's median weekly rent of $356.

And in Melbourne where the median one-bedroom apartment price is $335,000, weekly mortgage repayments of $352 are $49 less than the weekly median rent of $401.

Figures in the report are based on median house prices by bedroom with a 10 per cent deposit and a three-year, fixed interest rate of 4.5 per cent.

TOP MELBOURNE SUBURBS TO BUY RATHER THAN RENT - MORTGAGE vs RENT

* Melbourne, 1 bedroom, $352 vs $401

* Southbank, 1 bedroom, $447 vs $465

* Pakenham, 3 bedrooms, $294 vs $300

* Carlton, 1 bedroom, $221 vs $336

* Noble Park, 1 bedroom, $201 vs $210

* Mitcham, 1 bedroom, $303 vs $ $310

* Ascot vale, 1 bedroom, $265 vs $270

* Carrum Downs, 2 bedroom, $282 vs $310

* Sunshine, 2 bedroom, $289 vs $310

* Werribee, 2 bedroom, $246 vs $250

* Craigieburn, 2 bedroom, $292 vs $295

* Melton South, 3 bedroom, $257 vs $265

* Melton, 3 bedroom, $258 vs $260.