The September Quarter edition of the Adelaide Bank/REIA Housing Affordability Report has found that nationally, housing affordability improved, with the proportion of income required to meet loan repayments deceasing slightly by 0.5 percentage points to 30.4%.
Commenting on the report’s findings, Damian Percy, General Manager of Adelaide Bank said: “The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) retains the crown of being the most affordable state or territory in which to buy a home with the proportion of income required to meet loan repayments sitting at 19.4% – down 0.4 percentage points – and for those renting in the ACT at just 16.8% of median weekly family income”.
“When compared to the June quarter, Western Australia stands out in two key measures, firstly the greatest improvement in terms of the proportion of income required to meet loan repayments, which fell 0.7 percentage points to 25.9% and as the State with the largest proportion of first home buyers who now comprise 20.7% of the Western Australian owner-occupied market”.
“Rental affordability nationally also improved over the September quarter 2014, with the proportion of income required to meet rent payments decreasing 0.4 percentage points to 25.0%. You need to go back past September 2009 to see the proportion of income spent on rent consistently below this figure”
“Affordability has been assisted by an increase in the national median weekly family income, which rose 0.9% to $1,599 during the September quarter of 2014, and a 0.6% decline in the average monthly loan repayment”.
“Adelaide Bank’s continuing and widely recognised contribution to improving housing affordability is to keep the cost of lending as low as we can, while providing great service through Australia’s growing network of mortgage managers and brokers”, concluded Mr Percy.
Download the full AdelaideBank / REIA Housing Affordability Report
