Housing affordability at best level since 2013
There’s good news for potential home buyers, with housing affordability back to 2013 levels.
There’s good news for potential home buyers, with housing affordability back to 2013 levels.The Adelaide Bank/Real Estate Institute of Australia has released its Housing Affordability Report, showing the proportion of median family income needed to meet average home loan repayments fell by 2.4% over the March quarter to 30%.
During the same time, the national median weekly family income increased by 0.5% to $1,652. Median weekly family income was up 2.3% on the same quarter in 2015.
The average monthly loan repayment for was $2,144, down 7% for the quarter but up 0.7% compared to the same quarter in 2015.
According to Adelaide Bank general manager Damian Percy, every state and territory with the exception of the Northern Territory saw improvements in affordability for the quarter. New South Wales saw the biggest improvement, Percy said, with the proportion of income required to meet home loan repayments falling by 4% to 35.4%.
“However, NSW still holds the dubious honour of remaining the least affordable state for home buyers,” Percy said.
Percy said the number of first home buyers decreased by 16% for the quarter, falling 2.4% year-on-year. First home buyers currently make up 14.6% of the owner-occupier market, the lowest level since the June quarter of 2004. The average loan size to first home buyers also decreased in every state and territory with the exception of Tasmania, which saw an 8.1% increase. Tasmania was also the only state in which the number of first home buyers increased, rising 6.6% following the recent increase in the state’s First Home Owner Grant to $20,000.
