Australian housing affordability falls to worst level on record

Sydney, Nov 20 Housing affordability in Australia has fallen to its worst level on record, a new report has found.

The annual housing affordability report, published on Wednesday by the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Banking Group and property data provider CoreLogic, found that the national median dwelling value was eight times higher than the median annual household income in September. It equals the record-high set early in 2022.

The same report found that, as of September, it takes the median income household 10.6 years to save a 20 per cent deposit for the median dwelling.

Assuming a 20 per cent deposit, 25-year loan term and current average mortgage rates, the report said that a record-high 50.6 per cent of the median household income is required to service a new home loan, compared to 30.6 per cent in September 2019 and the 20-year average of 36.6 per cent, reports Xinhua news agency.

According to the report, Australia's median household income grew by 2.8 per cent over the 12 months to September while the median dwelling value increased by 8.5 per cent and rents grew by 9.6 per cent in the same period.

Modelling for September 2024 shows that only 10 per cent of the housing market would be considered genuinely affordable, defined as less than 30 per cent of income to service a loan, for the median income household, down from 40 per cent in March 2022.

"Even high-income households have seen drastically less access to the housing market, putting pressure on cheaper pockets of the market," the report said.

Meanwhile, the national median rental rate was a record 33 per cent of the median household income in September.