Housing affordability has continued to worsen over the past year, with first home buyers needing on average 4.5 years to save for a house deposit, up from 3.7 years, and many forced to save for over a decade.
Bankwest’s First Time Home Buyer Report also found thousands of young Australians have been forced to rent or live at home with their parents for an extra 10 months as they struggle to pull together a house deposit.
The research shows a first time buyer couple needs to raise an $85,800 deposit to purchase the median house, and $76,900 to buy a median unit.
There are 26 Local Government Areas (LGAs) – in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth – where it would take a first home buyer couple on average earnings more than a decade to save a house deposit.
Bankwest Retail Chief Executive, Vittoria Shortt said this was the stark reality of a strong Australian property sector.
“Increasingly we are seeing an entrenched two-speed market emerging with property owners on one side and a growing army of first home buyers seemingly locked out on the other,” Ms Shortt said.
Ms Shortt said first time buyers needed on average four-and-a-half-years to get together a conservative 20 per cent house deposit. This drops to four years for first time unit buyers.
”Australia’s booming property market is a double-edged sword,” Ms Shortt said.
“While it’s clearly of enormous benefit to established home owners it’s the complete opposite for many of their children. Many potential first home buyers are facing long periods in the rental market.”
“The situation has deteriorated even further now that first home owners’ grants have been wound back to their original pre-GFC levels and house prices have risen.”
Interesting facts:
• In the past year, the time needed to save a deposit has increased in every capital city.
• In the Perth area of Peppermint Grove, it would take 42 years to save a 20 per cent deposit – the longest in the country.
• In the north-west NSW area of Brewarrina, it would take two and a half months to save a 20 per cent deposit – the shortest amount of time in the country.
