Average Australian home tops A$1m amid housing crisis
The average price of an Australian home has surpassed A$1m (£483k, $652) for the first time, as the nation grapples with a housing affordability crisis.Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) this week estimate the average home was worth A$1,002,500 in the March quarter, up 0.7 per cent from the previous quarter.The nation is home to some of the least affordable cities on Earth, where buying or renting a place is increasingly out of reach for many Australians.Experts say the crisis is being driving by a lack of homes, a growing population, tax incentives for property investors, and inadequate investment in social housing.
The country's most populous state, New South Wales (NSW), continues to have the priciest homes on average, at A$1.2m, followed by Queensland at A$945k, according to the ABS.The agency's Mish Tan said the states of Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland were the "main drivers of the rise".While the average price of homes climbed in all states and territories in the March quarter, the annual growth rate is slowing, she added.The figures take in Australia's 11.3m dwellings - including the full gamut of property types, from freestanding homes, to terrace houses and apartments.Michael Fotheringham, head of the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, is not surprised to see the $1m benchmark crossed.Though a "daunting" and "compelling" statistic, he says it is the result of a years-long national trend of home prices outpacing wages and leaving the housing system "very strained"."This isn't just an affordability problem for lower income households - this is very much a problem for medium-income households as well," he said. "Globally we're seeing the term housing crisis being used in many developed countries," he added, "[but] our housing prices have risen sharply so it's one of the less affordable countries overall."Rental availability has also been a problem in recent years, and there isn't enough social housing to meet demand either.
Canada is facing similar challenges, Dr Fotheringham said, but the UK was markedly different as it has more council estates and social housing in the mix.However, the UK and Australia do share what he called "ambitious housing targets" with Australia hoping to build 1.2m homes and the UK 1.5m homes within the next five years.Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese - who won a second term last month at an election where housing was a top issue - on Tuesday said his government was looking to further reduce red tape for developers. They have long complained that planning laws prevent them from building enough homes. "One of the things that we have to do is to make it easier," he said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, adding "developers say that it's just too complex [and it] adds to costs as well".
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