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Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced sweeping tax changes in May that have brought down home prices, without making properties more affordable.<\/p>\n
Plunging house prices since the May budget were supposed to save Aussie homebuyers \u2014 instead, a monster pay rise has become the bare minimum needed just to get the keys to an average home.<\/p>\n
New modelling has revealed the Great Australian Dream has been hijacked by relentless interest rate rises that have blown the cost of owning property out of the water, even as prices fall.<\/p>\n
Everyday workers are now facing an insurmountable wage gap, with bank serviceability tests and punishing monthly repayments requiring paychecks well beyond the household average.<\/p>\n
Ground zero for the crisis is Sydney, where hopeful buyers must now command $245,000 a year in gross income to clear mortgage stress and secure an average-price property, the Canstar data showed.<\/p>\n
> See the income you need to buy a home in NSW<\/a> \/ Vic<\/a> \/ Qld<\/a><\/p>\n Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock is expected by many economists to announce one more hike. Picture: Nikki Short<\/p>\n That\u2019s if buying a median-priced house at current interest rates following four increases the RBA cash rate this year, which took rates to their highest level in 15 years.<\/p>\n The paycheck pain is marching relentlessly across every capital city in the country, with the average priced Brisbane house now affordable only for those earning $185,000 a year.<\/p>\n The same Brisbane house would have been affordable for a $160,000 a year earner last year.<\/p>\n That means the typical buyer would have needed a raise of nearly $25,000 in their pay to keep up with changes in the cost of repayments on new homes.<\/p>\n Canstar group manager of research Josh Sale said borrowing costs escalated far faster than property values adjusted downward.<\/p>\n \u201cDeclining borrowing power means they need a significantly higher salary just to qualify for a loan on a cheaper home, while persistent inflation continues to erode their capacity to save a deposit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Banks have passed interest rate hikes in full, increasing the required income to buy in most areas.<\/p>\n Master Builders NSW CEO Matthew Pollock said: \u201cWe have a ridiculous scenario where house prices are failing at the fastest rate in 40 years, but housing affordability is not improving.<\/p>\n \u201cThink about that for a moment \u2026 it (is) harder for people to buy a home, despite tax changes designed to crash house prices. This is all the evidence we need that the Federal Government\u2019s increase in Capital Gains Tax and changes to negative gearing have failed.\u201d<\/p>\n Canstar data showed the income now required to afford a purchase in each capital was at extreme levels:<\/p>\n QUEENSLAND<\/p>\n Pay rise you need to buy homes in Qld suburbs revealed<\/a><\/p>\n Brisbane couples needed a $30,000-plus pay rise this year just to keep pace with the property market, the data showed.<\/p>\n Brisbane home buyers will need to have secured some of the largest pay rises to keep up with market changes. Picture Lachie Millard<\/p>\n It was revealed that the income required to buy a home is rising about eight times faster than wage growth.<\/p>\n The average full-time worker\u2019s salary increased by about $3,600 in FY2025\u201326.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the income threshold for banks to approve a standard house loan surged by an average of $30,258 in the same period.<\/p>\n It means homebuyers would need to work an extra 11 hours every week at the average hourly rate just to cover the 12-month jump in required borrowing power following this month\u2019s interest rate hike.<\/p>\n MELBOURNE<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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