EST. 2013
valley life KEN JACOB & STEPHEN HAY
BUYERS NEED TO EARN $200,000 A YEAR TO AFFORD A HOUSE IN A CAPITAL CITY...
Aussies will now need to earn $200,000 a year to be able to afford a typical house in our capital cities after another explosion in property prices following this years interest rate cuts. National analysis from Finder, based on PropTrack and ABS data, found that eight out of ten suburbs across the country are unaffordable for those earning the average pre-tax household income of about $105,000. While Sydney topped the charts with buyers needing nearly $300,000 to service a mortgage, Brisbane households require about $201,000—placing Gold Coast buyers in an equally tough position. With the city’s median house price sitting at around $1.17 million, the Gold Coast is now the second most expensive property market in Australia, behind only Sydney. Units are a more accessible option but still demand a household income of around $130,000 to $140,000 to avoid mortgage stress, given the current median price of roughly $675,000. Finder’s Graham Cooke said that even incomes once considered “comfortable” were struggling to keep pace. “It’s a sobering reality that for many suburbs, even a six-figure salary isn’t enough to service a mortgage,” he said. For single buyers, he added, the dream is almost impossible without financial support from family or a second income. The situation has been exacerbated by the Reserve Bank’s rate cuts earlier this year, which improved borrowing power but pushed more buyers into the market, driving prices higher. Gold Coast affordability is now under such strain that even essential workers—such as nurses and paramedics with combined household incomes of around $149,000—would see more than half of their pay swallowed by mortgage repayments. For aspiring homeowners, the dream of securing a piece of the Coast lifestyle has become harder than ever, with high incomes now a necessity rather than a luxury.
Ken Jacob 0413 865 323 ken.jacob@raywhite.com
Stephen Hay 0409 599 899 stephen.hay@raywhite.com
Sep 2025 | Issue 32
Dream now more expensive...