Will Housing Affordability Improve in Australia?

squeeze on 02/10/2024 - 23:36
Last edited 03/10/2024 - 11:14 by 1 other user

I feel I'm not alone in being really frustrated with the state of housing affordability.

For context I am late 20s with a partner, financially savvy, have a good income and savings yet home ownership is almost entirely out of reach. That is - without making drastic life changes that would significantly reduce quality of life (eg. living in a run-down shoebox or moving to undesirable areas with are significantly further from work, family, friends etc).

In other words- what I can afford now is simply not worth being drowned in debt for the next 30-years, I would rather continue to rent in shared housing or do something more radical like move internationally. For most younger people the cost of living pressures have only pushed the concept of home ownership further into the category of 'never going to happen' unless you are lucky enough to get a large inheritance or hit Tattslotto.

I would like to gauge the wider OzBargain community thoughts on WILL THE STATE OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING IMPROVE IN AUSTRALIA

Believe that as a country we need to strip incentives that make investing in housing so lucrative for already wealthy investors, find ways of increasing housing supply and fundamentally change the perception of housing as investments but as shelter.

Poll Options

  • 11
    Yes - Housing Affordability will Improve
  • 209
    No - Housing Affordability will continue to get worse
  • 21
    The situation will stay more or less the same
Financial

Comments

          • cadwalader on 03/10/2024 - 15:18
            -2

            @Drakesy: No matter how many strawmen you make up. The fact is that people rather rent nearer to Sydney's entertainment, music festivals, plays, concerts, dance etc, fine dining, other food options, micro breweries, gastro pubs etc, healthcare technology, specialists etc. sports, rock climbing gyms, sailing, spinning, yoga, pilates etc, perceived education quality than own a house at 1980 price to single male income ratios near to Perth's entertainment, music festivals, plays, concerts, dance etc, fine dining, other food options, micro breweries, gastro pubs etc, healthcare technology, specialists etc. sports, rock climbing gyms, sailing, spinning, yoga, pilates etc, perceived education quality.

            • Emerald Owl on 03/10/2024 - 15:25

              @cadwalader: My whole life, family, employment, friends, etc is in Sydney. Expecting people to move to the other side of the continent is absurd and a strawman.

              • cadwalader on 03/10/2024 - 15:28

                @Emerald Owl:

                My whole life, family, friends, etc is in Sydney

                Do they help you spend less money on housing and time on commuting so you can get into sailing?

                Not sure you know what a strawman is. 50% of Australians have their parents born overseas. Its the Australian way to move across vast distances in search of something they want. Do you want cheaper housing? Do you prefer to pay more for housing in Sydney or do you prefer to pay less for housing in Perth?

                • Emerald Owl on 03/10/2024 - 15:29

                  @cadwalader: My parents are not born overseas. It’s not my way. My salary would be way lower in Perth. Perth is the most isolated city in the world.

                  • cadwalader on 03/10/2024 - 15:40

                    @Emerald Owl:

                    My parents are not born overseas. It’s not my way

                    Time to get with the way, or pay the price to stay stuck. Either way up to you.

                    My salary would be way lower in Perth.

                    How much lower. How much would your housing cost and travel time be though?

                    Perth is the most isolated city in the world

                    Still way more travel connections than Sydney in 1980s. Way cheaper relative to income too.

    • Drakesy on 03/10/2024 - 14:40
      +2

      Housing is already affordable and generally better than the type of amenities 6X average male income in 1980s.

      Lol Wut

  • overthinking on 03/10/2024 - 14:43
    -1

    lmao that yes/no ratio

    sheeeeeeesh

    op just buy a property and enjoy your capital growth

    • joka on 03/10/2024 - 15:08

      Not sure why people negged you. Yes, buy an investment property you can afford at a young age, sit on it, take advantage of the tax system, wait for the value to rise, get some capital against it, and then use it as security to buy your 'dream' home. That's how you make the system work for you. Waiting for the prices to fall or the government to 'help' you will mean you will never buy a house.

  • Benoffie on 03/10/2024 - 15:06

    Cant run a Big Australia policy and have huge levels of immigration and hope for magical changes to fundamentals in supply chains and outputs.

    Any changes in tax or duties is politicking.

  • hasher22 on 03/10/2024 - 16:35

    Nope…. throwing money isn't fixing the problem. And nothing is done about the CORE problems….

  • gromit on 03/10/2024 - 16:50

    It really depends on if we ever get a government willing to do the hard work in fixing it. So far neither Labor nor the Coalition and ESPECIALLY not the greens have any intention of fixing it, they all point at and blame symptoms rather than actually fixing the core problems which are supply, the costs, the red tape and land release issues that strangle supply barely get a look in, instead you just have them pointing fingers at banks, immigration, CGT and negative gearing, infrastructure etc etc, all of which are symptoms not the problem.

    my bet is it won't be fixed anytime soon.

  • sunnyii on 03/10/2024 - 17:35

    If property prices drop by 30%, you may not be able to afford a loan, especially if you lose your job. Even if you remain employed, the bank's risk assessment may limit the amount you can borrow unless you have a million dollars in your bank account.

    • AustriaBargain on 03/10/2024 - 17:39

      Are you suggesting banks won't lend first homeowners money to buy a house if the bank believes house values will go down instead of up?

      • gromit on 03/10/2024 - 17:42

        They will want substantially more security if prices are headed downward. Banks are a business not a charity.

  • rogerwilko on 03/10/2024 - 17:58

    You never know when famine, war or a pandemic will hit.

  • Gdsamp on 03/10/2024 - 19:26

    Nothing ever happens

  • Some Human on 03/10/2024 - 19:47

    I recently interacted with a young bunnings employee who told me he had just started his shift there after working all day as an apprentice sparky. He also runs a landscaping business on the weekend. Dude hopes to buy a house by 20.
    Instead of whinging and whining about affordability, he is out there doing everything he can to better his situation.
    This guy is my hero.
    Be like this guy.

  • hmy on 03/10/2024 - 20:40

    Australia doesn't have a housing affordability problem. It has an expectation problem.

    Everyone wants a house on a 500sqm block with 3+ bedrooms, all within 15km of the CBD. But there's only a finite amount of land, and with a growing population, prices will inevitably rise. Simple supply(finite)-demand(increasing) effect.

    Sorry to burst the bubble of the "Australian dream," but the idea that everyone has this inherent "right" to live in a house with land is simply not realistic.

    If you search on Domain or Realestate.com.au, you'll find plenty of 2-bedroom apartments or units in the $500k-$600k range. The issue here is that what you "can afford now is simply not worth being drowned in debt for the next 30-years". Because, you think you have this inherent "right" to live in a modern house with a land in a "decent" area.

    Australia doesn’t have a housing affordability problem. It has an expectation problem.

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