Overall housing affordability in Australia took a hit over the September quarter, with homes becoming less affordable in five of the country’s eight states and territories, according to the housing affordability report by the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA).

“The latest REIA Housing Affordability Report shows that the proportion of median family income required to meet average loan repayments was 31.7%,” stated Neville Sanders, president of REIA.

“The figure increased 1.4 percentage points during the quarter and 1.3 percentage points compared to a year ago largely due to the increasing size of new loans.”

Sanders added that the decline was observed in most states and territories (five out of eight), and the overall level of housing affordability is at its lowest since March 2013.

Only Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory posted improvements among the states and territories surveyed by the report.

On the other hand, the proportion of the median family income necessary to meet average loan repayments in the Northern Territory remains untouched.


 

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