Arabic version: القدرة على تحمّل تكاليف السكن تهبط إلى مستوى قياسي منخفض على مستوى البلاد

According to ABC News, national housing affordability has reached its lowest recorded level, despite recent declines in property prices. A household earning the median income of about $125,000 a year could afford 12 per cent of homes sold nationally in the past financial year.

Realestate.com.au data assumed households spent 30 per cent of gross income on mortgage repayments, with a 2.5 per cent buffer. Higher prices last year, slower income growth and interest-rate increases reversed a marginal affordability improvement in the 2025 financial year.

Affordability declined in every state examined. South Australia was the least affordable, with 7 per cent of properties sold within reach of median-income households. Victoria ranked highest at 16 per cent, though its result also fell.

Mortgage repayments now account for 35.5 per cent of average household income, the highest share since 1989. Economist Angus Moore said affordability could improve marginally if prices soften further, but warned that a meaningful increase in housing supply was needed, particularly for lower-income households.

Mortgage Stress Victoria chief executive Nadia Harrison said requests for assistance rose about 30 per cent from February 2026 compared with the monthly 2025 average. She said the demand had remained steady and called for broader hardship protections for borrowers.