‘Great Australian dream’ slipping out of our reach

Having a stable and regular income is no longer enough to comfortably enter the housing market anywhere in Sydney, says a new study.
It predicts the situation will be dire until at least the next decade for anyone on a single standard income alone.
The research by Dr Mustapha Bangura from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and UNSW Sydney Professor Chyi Lin Lee, found that there was nowhere in Greater Sydney where someone on the NSW median part-time or full-time income coud afford to buy a property.
Instead, income supplements, like existing wealth or significant cash gifts from family, would be needed to purchase a property and afford mortgage repayments.
“While we expected the issue of housing affordability to be severe for part-time employment, we found that full-time employees are also significantly affected,” says Prof Lee, senior author of the study from the School of Built Environment at UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture.
“This highlights the widespread housing affordability crisis and the need for comprehensive policy solutions.”
Researchers found that nowhere in Sydney was affordable based on the 2021 NSW weekly median income for part-time employees of $600 and while the median income for full-time employees was higher at $1,500 a week, nowhere in Greater Sydney was affordable.
“So, it’s clear the Australian dream of owning a home is becoming increasingly harder to attain,” Prof Lee said.
“The government should consider doing more to address the supply side in the immediate term.”
The research also forecasts that, without interventions to improve housing affordability, there will still be nowhere in Sydney where a median part-time or full-time income alone can afford to buy a home until at least 2031.