06 March 2015. The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) quarterly report into housing affordability released this week found worsening levels across the nation.
The Adelaide Bank Housing Affordability Report provides a comprehensive analysis of the property sector in Australia and looks at long-term trends to ensure a better snapshot of the housing market.
REIA Chief Executive Amanda Lynch said the latest data show a drop in housing affordability nationally, with the proportion of income required to meet loan repayments increasing by 1.1 percentage points to 31.5 per cent.
“Housing affordability is now at its lowest levels since the March quarter of 2013,” Ms Lynch said.
“In every state and territory, housing affordability has worsened as a result of strong rises in property prices but only modest increases in income.”
President of the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia, David Airey, said the proportion of income required to meet loan repayments in WA was up slightly from 25.9 to 26.1 per cent.
“Interestingly, the latest data from the Office of State Revenue show that the number of first home buyers in January was roughly the same as for January last year, but the median purchase price for first time buyers had dropped around $20,000 to $429,000 over the same period,” Mr Airey said.
“It looks like the change to the stamp duty exemption for first home buyers the Treasurer made in 2013 has pushed a greater of number of first time buyers to $430,000 or below, which is the threshold to avoid this tax,” Mr Airey said.
There was better news for renters in the REIA report, with the latest quarterly data showing rental affordability improving with the proportion of income required to meet rent payments decreasing slightly to 24.8 per cent.
“This is quite obvious across metropolitan Perth which has seen typical rents come down by $20 or $30 dollars over the last year, or more in some areas with a lots of vacancies.
“REIWA property managers have reported a sharp jump in new leases during February as more people chose to enter the rental system on the back of better prices,” Mr Airey said.
REIWA data currently puts the Perth rental vacancy rate at 4.1 per cent with around 6,230 properties looking for tenants.
“This is about 1,500 properties more than we’d expect under normal conditions,” Mr Airey said.
