27-05-2025
Revealed: The insane salary Aussies now need to buy a home in Sydney
Sydneysiders hoping to buy a home have been given more bad news with a new report stating the city's median house price is now worth 13 times the average salary.
The Australian Property Institute's (API) Valuation Report, released on Tuesday, painted a grim outlook for those seeking to step onto the property ladder in the Harbour City.
Fifty years ago, a median priced home in Australia's most populated city cost just 4.2 times the average worker's salary.
In 1995, it had only risen to 5.8 times their income.
But by 2015, that same median priced home was worth 11.1 times an average income for Sydneysiders.
The average Australian salary last year was just short of $103,000, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, while a median home price is nearly $1.34million.
The new data equates to a median home costing more than 13 times the average income.
API chief executive Amelia Hodge said housing affordability is at a 50-year low.
'Australia has one of the fastest growing populations in the OECD, fuelled by record immigration, yet housing for younger Australians is more unaffordable than ever,' she said.
Experts believe high levels of inflation and a housing shortage are to blame.
Meanwhile, in Melbourne, the median house price was 8.4 times the average salary, while in Canberra, this figure was at 9.0.
Darwin had the most affordable houses, according to the report, with prices at 5.8 times the average salary.
'Despite the vast bulk of immigrants surging into Sydney and Melbourne, the results suggest the impact of migration on Australian domestic property prices may not be as pronounced as other unseen factors,' Ms Hodge said.
Between 2005 and 2024, house prices rose by a whopping 171 per cent in Sydney, with other capital cities seeing similar increases.
Melbourne's house prices rose by 169 per cent in the two decades, while Adelaide saw an increase of 175 per cent.
Meanwhile, in the Sunshine State, median homes in Brisbane were worth 2.9 times the average income in 1975. Now they're worth roughly 8.3 times the average salary.
