Sydney housing affordability has never been this poor

Advertisement

Last month, a study from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and University of Technology Sydney (UTS) warned that housing affordability in Sydney has become dire.

The study found that only apartments in specific suburbs of Western Sydney were affordable for someone with a median income, whereas detached houses were unaffordable throughout the city.

“Households relying solely on their earnings will have limited chances of achieving homeownership”, said senior study author Professor Chyi Lin Lee from the School of Built Environment at UNSW.

“So it’s clear the Australian dream of owning a home is becoming increasingly harder to attain”.

Advertisement

On Thursday, CBA senior economist Belinda Allen published the following chart showing that Sydney’s housing affordability is the worst on record when mortgage payments on the median-priced home are compared against dual average full-time incomes:

Housing affordability

Other data illustrates the extreme unaffordability of Sydney housing.

Domain data shows that Sydney’s median house price hit an all-time high $1,662,400 in the June quarter:

Sydney median house price
Advertisement

Sydney’s median house price is also become increasingly unaffordable compared to the other capital cities:

Sydney house prices versus other capitals

Meanwhile, Sydney rents have soared into the stratosphere at $1,033 per week for houses and $697 a week for units:

Advertisement
Asking rents

Is there any wonder why birth rates in Sydney have collapsed and younger incumbent residents are leaving the city in droves?

Given that the ABS projects Sydney’s population to increase to about 8.3 million people by 2070 as a result of persistently high net overseas migration, these trends will continue.

Advertisement

Sydney will transform into an even more expensive city of high-rise apartment towers that are unconducive to raising families.

Sydney dwelling composition
Advertisement

Young Sydneysiders have no housing future.

About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.