Mortgage Pressure Soars: A Deep Dive Into Affordability Crisis

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According to fresh insights from the Real Estate Institute of Australia, NSW settlements are experiencing considerable strain, where families are allocating as much as 58.5% of their gross weekly earnings to service their mortgages. This distressing situation is a clear indicator of the housing affordability crisis affecting the state, resulting in alarmingly high costs of living for its residents.

The months between October and December 2023 saw a spike in the average mortgage repayment burden for NSW homeowners, with an increase in excess of $800 compared to previous figures. Despite a minor relief for renters with a dip in income percentage needed to cover rent, they still lead the country in terms of rental affordability challenges.

Compared to NSW neighbors such as Victoria, renter households in the Garden State experience marginally more breathing room, with 27.3% of their weekly income dedicated to rent, as opposed to Victoria's 21.1%. Nonetheless, the closing quarter of 2023 saw a downturn in affordability metrics for both renters and homeowners south of the NSW border.

Victoria wasn't twirling in a bubble of its own; Queensland trailed closely with a 45.1% cut from family budgets to cover mortgage costs. South Australia and Tasmania were also in the fray, with indispensable 44.3% and 43.4% slices of household income financing mortgages.

A contrast to the tougher conditions elsewhere, the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory (ACT) emerged as the giants in affordability. Their residents needed less of their weekly income to cover housing expenses — with Canberra residents paying less than a fifth for rent.

An analysis of income versus housing costs reveals that ACT dwellers also had the upper hand financially: their weekly earnings surpassed their NSW counterparts by almost $800, mitigating their markedly smaller average home loan.

Despite less financial pressure, the Northern Territory and Western Australia cannot lay back in complacency. Home repayments may only claim 33% of the weekly income in NT, and slightly more in WA, but borrowers in the West have seen their monthly repayments swell by around $600 year-on-year.

The number of first-time homeowners surged in the nation’s concluding quarter of 2023. Over 31,000 families took their inaugural steps onto the property ladder—a sharp 16.8% increase. Quite the phenomenon, considering the affordability squeeze.

And yet, amid concerning figures, NSW still notched a higher count of first home buyers compared to the previous year while getting surpassed by Victoria, which bolstered an impressive array of just under 24,000 fresh mortgages. The lines, though variably drawn across the states and territories, signified an unmistakable trend: the Australian dream, despite the hurdles, persists unvanquished.

Published:Monday, 18th Mar 2024
Source: Paige Estritori

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