Latest news with #householdincome
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Have your wages kept pace with post-Covid growth in Geelong
The level of household income needed to comfortably afford to break in to the property market in Geelong has risen over the past five years despite home prices remaining in the doldrums. Exclusive Canstar research reveals how much wages have failed to keep pace with the property market in the five years since the start of the pandemic. More tellingly, it reveals how much outside of actual home prices impacts people's ability to break in to the market. The figures show the level of household income to buy in a suburb of Geelong and pay less than 30 per cent on mortgage repayments has risen between about $40,000 to almost $140,000, depending on the suburb you buy in. Four suburbs require an income of less than $100,000 – Norlane, Corio, Thomson and Whittington. But the amount required has climbed between $37,000 and $44,000 in the past five years. A median priced house in Armstrong Creek requires a $121,000 household income, a $51,000 increase, while a similar rise pushes the annual wage to buy in Belmont to $130,000. A typical household income required to buy in Geelong West rose $66,000 to $158,000. But the biggest rise was in Manifold Heights, where the median house price has reached $1.26m off the back of a sharp rise this year. A household now needs a $235,000 income to comfortably afford to buy in this high-end suburb. Canstar director of research Sally Tindall said the study showed the widening generational wealth gap. 'It is astonishing to see just what kind of income is required to get a foot on the property ladder these days,' Ms Tindall said. 'My concern is that this is shutting people out. It creates this divide between those already in the property market and those that are struggling to land a foot on the property ladder. 'What we are seeing anecdotally is that those families who have property are passing down the wealth they have created through home ownership down generations, further deepening that divide,' Ms Tindall said. 'The Bank of Mum and Dad is becoming more of a thing.' At $720,000, Geelong's median house price is 23 per cent higher than it was in 2020, even though it's 9 per cent lower than three years ago. Part of what was fuelling the incredible rise in property prices was the burgeoning amount of equity upgraders had behind them to channel into their next purchases, Ms Tindall said. 'Very few people have had the kind of pay rises needed to keep pace with the market. For most people, the only way they've kept up is because they already own property. Success breeds success.' The problem for first-home buyers was that getting a foot on the first rung of the property ladder was becoming more challenging, robbing them of the chance to also benefit from future equity gains, she said. 'Fundamentally, the issue facing first-home buyers across the country is that prices are too high and their wages can't keep up. 'There are a range of complex reasons we have this problem, but one of the primary factors is that we don't have enough housing supply and we are not building enough to satisfy demand.' Zippy Financial principal broker Louisa Sanghera said more buyers were amassing smaller deposits and paying lenders mortgage insurance to get in sooner. 'Waiting for a 20 per cent deposit isn't realistic anymore,' she said. 'If they wait, the market moves on without them.' Ms Sanghera said even strong earners were hitting serviceability roadblocks. 'Banks are stress-testing at nine per cent,' she said. 'Add rising living costs, and many buyers can't borrow what they'd hoped.' Have your wages kept pace with post-Covid growth Suburb Property type Median value Gross income needed Difference in gross income over five years Anglesea H $1,350,000 $252,188 $121,110 Armstrong Creek H $650,000 $121,424 $51,203 Bannockburn H $785,000 $146,643 $69,066 Barwon Heads H $1,420,000 $265,264 $114,123 Bell Park H $611,000 $114,139 $49,034 Bell Post Hill H $660,000 $123,292 $58,421 Belmont H $700,000 $130,764 $55,996 Charlemont H $615,500 $114,979 $43,421 Clifton Springs H $652,600 $121,910 $55,969 Corio H $490,000 $91,535 $43,785 Curlewis H $638,250 $119,229 $45,932 Drysdale H $710,000 $132,632 $51,377 East Geelong H $765,000 $142,907 $55,967 Geelong H $880,000 $164,389 $70,561 Geelong West H $850,000 $158,785 $66,495 Grovedale H $663,000 $123,853 $54,301 Hamlyn Heights H $720,000 $134,501 $60,936 Herne Hill H $700,000 $130,764 $59,373 Highton H $861,000 $160,840 $67,413 Indented Head H $700,000 $130,764 $48,439 Jan Juc H $1,270,000 $237,244 $115,528 Lara H $680,000 $127,028 $54,667 Leopold H $650,000 $121,424 $51,872 Lorne H $1,557,500 $290,950 $98,011 Lovely Banks H $840,000 $156,917 $79,741 Manifold Heights H $1,260,000 $235,376 $138,739 Marshall H $630,000 $117,688 $52,416 Mount Duneed H $700,000 $130,764 $54,993 Newcomb H $550,000 $102,744 $42,488 Newtown H $1,150,000 $214,827 $95,118 Norlane H $451,000 $84,250 $37,436 North Geelong H $610,000 $113,952 $40,655 Ocean Grove H $955,000 $178,400 $84,505 Point Lonsdale H $1,207,500 $225,568 $112,546 Portarlington H $863,500 $161,307 $77,878 St Albans Park H $585,000 $109,282 $52,403 St Leonards H $720,000 $134,501 $60,268 Teesdale H $990,000 $184,938 $92,314 Thomson H $512,500 $95,738 $40,698 Torquay H $1,175,000 $219,497 $111,090 Wandana Heights H $925,000 $172,796 $66,027 Waurn Ponds H $765,500 $143,000 $57,063 Whittington H $529,000 $98,821 $44,082 Winchelsea H $650,000 $121,424 $61,235 Have your wages kept pace with post-Covid growth Suburb Property type Median value Gross income needed Difference in gross income over five years Bell Park U $507,000 $94,711 $42,547 Belmont U $538,000 $100,502 $44,593 Drysdale U $547,500 $102,277 $48,107 Geelong U $615,000 $114,886 $44,532 Geelong West U $387,500 $72,388 $17,549 Grovedale U $496,250 $92,703 $36,551 Hamlyn Heights U $530,750 $99,148 $38,892 Herne Hill U $368,000 $68,745 $29,956 Highton U $500,000 $93,403 $38,564 Lara U $447,500 $83,596 $33,104 Leopold U $483,000 $90,228 $37,395 Newcomb U $478,000 $89,294 $39,805 Newtown U $575,000 $107,414 $47,894 Norlane U $380,000 $70,987 $30,861 Ocean Grove U $741,000 $138,423 $54,158 Torquay U $880,000 $164,389 $75,844 Whittington U $365,000 $68,185 $27,390
Japan Times
16-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Finances are tight for dual-income households, too, survey finds
Almost half of full-time workers whose spouses are working say they are struggling financially, according to a survey released Thursday by job-matching company Mynavi. The survey, which was conducted on married workers in dual-income households, found that 46% of them feel financially strained. Respondents reported an average household income of ¥8.06 million ($55,500), but said their ideal income would be ¥11.26 million — a gap of ¥3.2 million. The study, which collected responses in November from 3,000 men and women between the ages of 20 and 59, highlighted the economic stress felt by many working couples, even though 85.8% of respondents said their partner had a full-time, salaried position. Financial anxiety was more pronounced among households with children, whose average income was higher, at ¥9.01 million, but still fell short of the desired ¥12.47 million. Respondents who said they were struggling financially reported an average household income of ¥7.17 million — around ¥1.7 million lower than those who said they were not experiencing hardship. In addition to income stress, the survey explored how couples managed their finances and household responsibilities. A total of 28.8% of respondents reported using an 'allowance system' of setting aside a fixed amount each month for them to spend for themselves. The system was most common among couples in their 50s, with the rate of usage rising to 31.2% in that age group. The data also exposed stark gender disparities in domestic labor and career advancement. On average, men reported working 18.8 hours of overtime per month, compared with 9.5 hours for women. However, women spent significantly more time on housework — 2.5 hours per day, compared with 1.4 hours for men. When asked about their career standing, 56.1% of respondents said they did not hold a managerial title. The gender divide was pronounced: 71% of women said they had no title, versus 47.8% of men. Only around 30% of respondents — or 33.6% of men and 24.2% of women — said they wanted a promotion. Some respondents cited personal ambition as a reason for wanting to move up the career ladder, but others were hesitant to be promoted, expressing concern about the potential 'bigger workloads and more responsibilities without meaningful rewards,' as one man in his 20s put it. One woman in her 20s stated she had no interest in climbing the corporate ladder after watching her supervisors being 'overwhelmed and underpaid.' 'Differences in ambition or income levels between men and women are not necessarily the result of individual ability or mindset,' said Akari Asahina, a researcher at Mynavi's Career Research Lab. 'They are often rooted in uneven divisions of labor at home and deep-seated unconscious biases in society.' Japan had about 13 million dual-income households in 2024, according to government data, and the number is expected to grow. Asahina said the economic anxiety among these households underscores the need to reassess expectations — not just about money, but about the way people live and work.
