Perth emerges as Australia’s most affordable capital city for home buyers

A new report by REA Group’s data business PropTrack has revealed that Western Australia and Queensland are home to the majority of Australia’s most affordable regions for home buyers, with Perth topping the list for capital cities.

The PropTrack Affordability Hotspots Report found that just over half of all regions across the country containing homes that are affordable for those on median incomes are located in Western Australia and Queensland.

Paul Ryan, PropTrack Senior Economist and report author, said, “It’s no secret the property market is incredibly tough right now for first home buyers and lower income households. This report has been able to isolate pockets around the country where access to the market remains relatively affordable.”

The report highlighted that 41% of regions in Western Australia have a significant proportion of homes affordable to those on median incomes, with the most affordable regions in Perth located to the south of the city, where a median income household can afford around one in five homes.

In contrast, Sydney remains the least affordable city in Australia, with only 3.8% of home sales affordable for median income households, while 7.1% of home sales were affordable for median income households in Melbourne.

Regional areas also showed promising affordability, with outback regions topping the list. “While remote, these regions continue to have high accessibility for households with median incomes, with well above two-thirds of homes considered affordable,” Ryan noted.

The report also found that regions such as Townsville in Queensland have seen double-digit price growth over the past year as affordability drove demand.

“The results from this report quantify the challenging state of housing affordability across the country. Very few regions remain affordable to households earning median incomes or lower, highlighting the role that existing wealth plays in entering home ownership given the high level of prices across the country,” Ryan concluded.