Overview
- Cotality’s Housing Affordability Report records peak stress: the median dwelling value is about $860,529, the price-to-income ratio hits 8.2, renters spend a record 33.4% of income, and servicing a new loan requires roughly 45% of a median household’s pay.
- The Rental Affordability Index names Perth the least affordable capital for tenants, with median rent consuming 32% of rental household income and rents up more than 90% since 2020, while regional Western Australia also posts its steepest decline in years.
- Regional Queensland is the most unaffordable regional market nationally, with rents often higher than Brisbane relative to incomes and hotspots on the Gold and Sunshine coasts; a single pensioner there would spend about 61% of income on rent.
- Authors report early stabilisation in several cities from severe lows, though they attribute this to renters reaching affordability limits, and note conditions remain unstable in Brisbane and continue to worsen in Perth.
- Governments report progress on supply, including HAFF-backed projects and WA’s completed East Perth Common Ground, yet experts say the system still needs about 44,500 social and affordable homes a year to close the gap.