{"id":23101,"date":"2015-08-26T17:30:33","date_gmt":"2015-08-26T07:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/?p=23101"},"modified":"2021-08-31T21:18:11","modified_gmt":"2021-08-31T11:18:11","slug":"map-salary-buy-australian-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/map-salary-buy-australian-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Map: The Salary You Need to Buy In Each Australian City"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!-- <ezTOC> --><\/p>\n<aside style=\"display: inline-block;\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<div style=\"margin: 0px 0px; padding: 0px 20px !important; width: 320px; float: left;\">\n<p><object style=\"display: inline-block; width: 3.8em; opacity: .8;\" data=\"\/images\/search-agent.svg\" type=\"image\/svg+xml\" width=\"300\" height=\"50\"><\/object><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold; color: black; font-size: 20px;\">Looking To Buy &amp; Sell?<\/p>\n<p>Rank individual agents by experience at selling similar properties to yours.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"js-goto-main-form button button-main\" style=\"display: inline-block; border: none; font-size: 1em; padding: .5em 1.5em; color: white !important; text-align: center; outline: 0; text-transform: uppercase; border-radius: .3em; text-decoration: none; font-weight: 500; -webkit-transition: all .4s; -moz-transition: all .4s; transition: all .4s; background-color: #41c0be; margin: 20px;\" href=\"\/your-best-agents\">See Top Agents Now<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin: 0px 0px; padding: 0px 20px !important; width: 320px; float: left;\">\n<p><object style=\"display: inline-block; width: 3.8em; opacity: .8;\" data=\"\/images\/money-bag.svg\" type=\"image\/svg+xml\" width=\"300\" height=\"50\"><\/object><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: bold; color: black; font-size: 20px;\">See Costs &amp; Agent Fees<\/p>\n<p>Compare selling costs, average agent fees and advertising costs in your area.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"js-goto-main-form button button-main\" style=\"display: inline-block; border: none; font-size: 1em; padding: .5em 1.5em; color: white !important; text-align: center; outline: 0; text-transform: uppercase; border-radius: .3em; text-decoration: none; font-weight: 500; -webkit-transition: all .4s; -moz-transition: all .4s; transition: all .4s; background-color: #41c0be; margin: 20px;\" href=\"\/your-best-agents\">Check out costs now<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<hr \/>\n<p>If you\u2019re looking for proof that Australia\u2019s housing market is truly outrageous, this is it.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve crunched the numbers to determine the annual salary needed to purchase the median-priced home in each of Australia\u2019s capital cities, as well as in several inner city suburbs. The results may surprise you.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Where_can_you_afford_to_buy\"><\/span>Where can you afford to buy?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Our research suggests homebuyers need an annual salary of $73,500 to buy the median-priced home in Australia.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s in line with Australian Bureau of Statistics data that shows the average Australian <a href=\"http:\/\/www.abs.gov.au\/ausstats\/abs@.nsf\/mf\/6302.0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">earns just under $80,000 each year<\/a>, though this figure is heavily skewed by a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/radionational\/programs\/breakfast\/how-rich-is-rich\/5435468\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">small number of high income earners<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>While the national median house price and the average Australian annual earnings seem to add up, there\u2019s a problem. The national median house price does not accurately reflect how much it costs to buy in some of Australia\u2019s most in-demand locations.<\/p>\n<p>As you can see from the map below, the annual salary needed to purchase a median-priced home varies from city to city.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Map-Salary-for-Median-Priced-House.png\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-23008\" title=\"Map Salary for Median Priced House\" src=\"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Map-Salary-for-Median-Priced-House.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The map shows, for example, that the average homebuyer has been all but pushed out of Sydney\u2019s property market. How many individuals do you know who earn more than $106,000 per year?<\/p>\n<p>What the map doesn\u2019t show is that median house prices can also differ greatly between neighbouring suburbs.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_we_did_the_maths\"><\/span>How we did the maths<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Before we dissect the findings in detail, it might be useful to explain how we came up with the numbers.<\/p>\n<p>Our calculations assume that a homebuyer:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Is single<\/li>\n<li>Has no dependents<\/li>\n<li>Puts down 20 per cent deposit on a 25-year loan at an interest rate of 5.0 per cent (plus a buffer of 1.5 per cent)<\/li>\n<li>Has annual expenses equal to $17,907, which is the Melbourne Institute\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.melbourneinstitute.com\/downloads\/publications\/Poverty%20Lines\/Poverty-lines-Australia_Dec2014.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">definition of the poverty line<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Devotes all after tax income (beyond the $17,907) to loan repayments<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We then researched median capital city and suburb house prices using <a href=\"http:\/\/www.corelogic.com.au\/resources\/pdf\/indices\/chart-pack\/2015-07-06--corelogic-rpdata-housing-economic-chartpack.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Core Logic<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.realestate.com.au\/neighbourhoods\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">realestate.com.au<\/a> data, and used an <a href=\"http:\/\/www.infochoice.com.au\/calculators\/borrowing-power-calculator\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">online borrowing calculator<\/a> to determine how much a buyer would need to borrow to purchase the median-priced home in each location.<\/p>\n<p>This sum was adjusted to reflect the assumptions outlined above.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Australias_most_affordable_capital_cities_are%E2%80%A6\"><\/span>Australia\u2019s most affordable capital cities are\u2026<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/3-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-23009\" title=\"Hobart\" src=\"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/3-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Hobart, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth are the most affordable Australian capital cities for homebuyers.<\/p>\n<p>To purchase the median-priced homes in these cities, homebuyers need an annual salary of less than $66,500. If you\u2019re interested in moving across the Bass Strait and buying the median-priced home in Hobart, you\u2019ll need an average annual salary of just $49,000.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hobart<\/strong><br \/>\nMedian house price: $347,000<br \/>\nSalary required: $49,000<\/p>\n<p><strong>Adelaide<\/strong><br \/>\nMedian house price: $430,000<br \/>\nSalary required: $57,100<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brisbane<\/strong><br \/>\nMedian house price: $487,000<br \/>\nSalary required: $62,900<\/p>\n<p><strong>Perth<\/strong><br \/>\nMedian house price: $525,000<br \/>\nSalary required: $66,500<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Melbourne_Canberra_and_Darwin_more_expensive\"><\/span>Melbourne, Canberra and Darwin more expensive<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/1-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-23010\" title=\"Melbourne\" src=\"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, not all Australian capital cities are as affordable as Hobart.<\/p>\n<p>As you might expect, Canberra and Melbourne are at the higher end of the scale, with median-priced homes in these cities requiring annual salaries of $73,300 and $75,400 respectively.<\/p>\n<p>Darwin, propelled by large-scale mining and infrastructure projects, isn\u2019t far behind. Homebuyers need an annual salary of $72,500 to buy in Australia\u2019s most northern city.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Darwin<\/strong><br \/>\nMedian house price: $585,000<br \/>\nSalary required: $72,500<\/p>\n<p><strong>Canberra<\/strong><br \/>\nMedian house price: $590,000<br \/>\nSalary required: $73,300<\/p>\n<p><strong>Melbourne<\/strong><br \/>\nMedian house price: $615,000<br \/>\nSalary required: $75,400<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Sydney_-_if_youre_not_on_a_six-figure_salary_look_elsewhere\"><\/span>Sydney \u2013 if you\u2019re not on a six-figure salary, look elsewhere<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/2-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-23011\" title=\"Sydney\" src=\"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/2-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>With houses regularly selling for over $1 million, it will surprise few that Sydney has some of the least affordable homes in the country.<\/p>\n<p>Homebuyers need to earn at least $106,000 to afford Sydney\u2019s median priced home \u2013 and a lot more if they want to buy in more prestigious suburbs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sydney<\/strong><br \/>\nMedian house price: $900,000<br \/>\nSalary required: $106,000<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Pay_extra_for_top_locations\"><\/span>Pay extra for top locations<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>You already need a six-figure salary to afford the median-priced home in Sydney. But if you thought that was out of reach for most Australians, wait until you hear how much it costs to buy in the inner city.<\/p>\n<p>Melbourne homebuyers need to be in the second-highest tax bracket or above (earning at least $138,200 per year) to afford the median-priced home in inner city suburbs like Fitzroy.<\/p>\n<p>In Sydney, homebuyers need an annual salary of $235,000, or over three times the average annual Australian wage, to afford to buy the median-priced home in Bondi Beach.<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s not the worst of it.<\/p>\n<p>Prospective homeowners need an annual salary of $1,169,000 &#8211; over fifteen times the average salary &#8211; to afford the median-priced home in Point Piper.<\/p>\n<p>To put that into perspective, fewer than 0.1 per cent of Australians <a href=\"http:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/business\/the-economy\/you-need-how-much-to-be-uber-rich-our-top-earners-are-taking-home-more-20150511-ggyzom.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">make more than $1,169,000 per year<\/a>. In fact, someone at the lower end of Australia\u2019s top 0.1 per cent earns just $600,625. That\u2019s over $550,000 short of what\u2019s required to afford for the median-priced Point Piper home.<\/p>\n<p>[do action=&#8221;ds_cta_undraw&#8221; imageurl=&#8221;https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/illustration_report.png&#8221; heading=&#8221;Get your free property value report&#8221; desc=&#8221;With comparable sales, price trends &amp; more.&#8221; buttonlink=&#8221;https:\/\/form.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/free-property-report\/&#8221; buttoncta=&#8221;Get Report&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Australias_priciest_hipster_suburbs\"><\/span>Australia\u2019s priciest hipster suburbs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>9. Redfern, NSW<\/strong><br \/>\nMedian price: $1.18 million<br \/>\nSalary required: $135,200<\/p>\n<p><strong>8. Forest Lodge, NSW<\/strong><br \/>\nMedian price: $1.181 million<br \/>\nSalary required: $135,200<\/p>\n<p><strong>7. Fitzroy, VIC<\/strong><br \/>\nMedian price: $1.206 million<br \/>\nSalary required: $138,200<\/p>\n<p><strong>6. Camperdown, NSW<\/strong><br \/>\nMedian price: $1.26 million<br \/>\nSalary required: $143,900<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. Surry Hills, NSW <\/strong><br \/>\nMedian price: $1.33 million<br \/>\nSalary required: $152,500<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. Chippendale, NSW <\/strong><br \/>\nMedian price: $1.33 million<br \/>\nSalary required: $152,000<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Darlinghurst, NSW<\/strong><br \/>\nMedian price: $1.43 million<br \/>\nSalary required: $162,000<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Bondi Beach, NSW<\/strong><br \/>\nMedian price: $2.002 million<br \/>\nSalary required: $235,000<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Point Piper, NSW<\/strong><br \/>\nMedian price: $9.4 million<br \/>\nSalary required: $1,169,000<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/4-1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-23012\" title=\"Point Piper\" src=\"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/4-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Pointpipermain.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Point Piper<\/a>\u201d is licenced under the <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.5\/deed.en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Key_takeaways\"><\/span>Key takeaways<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Nationally, homebuyers need to earn an annual salary of at least $73,500 to afford the median-priced Australian home.<\/li>\n<li>Sydney remains the most unaffordable city for the majority of Australians. To buy the median-priced home in Point Piper, for example, a homebuyer needs to earn upwards of $1,169,000 per year.<\/li>\n<li>Melbourne is far more affordable than Sydney, with an annual salary of $75,400 required to purchase the median-priced home. However, buying in an inner city suburb such as Fitzroy requires almost double the salary ($138,200).<\/li>\n<li>Hobart is the most affordable city, with a median house price of just $347,500<\/li>\n<li>Compared to Hobart, Sydney homebuyers need to earn over $55,000 more per year to afford a median-priced home.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/table.png\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-23013\" title=\"table\" src=\"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/table.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"727\" height=\"532\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>[do action=&#8221;ds_cta_undraw&#8221; imageurl=&#8221;https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/illustration_presentation.png&#8221; heading=&#8221;Free appraisal from a top local agent&#8221; desc=&#8221;Includes selling price and costs to market your property.&#8221; buttonlink=&#8221;https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/your-best-agents\/&#8221; buttoncta=&#8221;Connect&#8221;]<!-- <\/ezTOC> --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re looking for proof that Australia\u2019s housing market is truly outrageous, this is it. We\u2019ve crunched the numbers to determine the annual salary needed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54448,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"modified_by":"WREA","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23101"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23101"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65143,"href":"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23101\/revisions\/65143"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wrea.test.whichrealestateagent.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}