The home at 22 Moulden Tce, Moulden, is for sale below the Darwin median house price with a price guide of $480,000. Picture: realestate.com.au
Darwin has the shortest path to homeownership of any capital city with hopeful homebuyers in the Top End able to save for a deposit in half the time of most of their southern counterparts.
Exclusive data revealed a Darwin household earning a typical wage would need to save their entire earnings for 48 weeks in 2025 to fund a 20 per cent deposit for a median-priced house.
This was less than half the time required by Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide buyers, and only slightly worse off than Darwin homebuyers 30 years ago.
The analysis by MCG Quantity Surveyors used a 20 per cent deposit of $121,000 for a standard Darwin house priced at $605,000 and a typical household income of $2530 per week.
Using these figures, the average Darwin house costs about 4.6 times the typical Darwin annual household income.
In Sydney, a typical house was 11.6 times the average household income and in Brisbane it was 10 times the typical household income.
The MCG data showed the deposit burden had surged in other capital cities, but Darwin homebuyers were better off today than 10 years ago.
In 2015, a 20 per cent house deposit would be equivalent to 53 weeks of a typical household income, while it was 49 weeks in 2005 and 41 weeks in 1995.
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MCG managing director Mike Mortlock. Picture: Supplied
MCG managing director Mike Mortlock said the data served as a yardstick only, as it assumed households could save 100 per cent of their income.
“Because it ignores tax and essential spending, the deposit multiple understates the real time it takes to save, but it does let us compare cities and eras on a like-for-like basis,” he said.
“Since Covid, inflation in rents, insurance, utilities and groceries has crushed household saving rates.
“That means the lived experience is tougher than the deposit multiple alone suggests.”
Adam Cullen, owner and operator of Mortgage Choice Darwin City, said while the deposit burden was much lower in Darwin than in other capitals, many buyers still struggled to save the required amount due to the high cost of rent and cost of living.
“First homebuyers in particular have been pushed so far with so many rent increases and the inconveniences of moving properties because the landlord is seeking higher rent or changing the purpose of the property or selling the property,” he said.
“I’m meeting a lot of first homebuyers who are sick of the high rents and inconveniences and they want to build equity.
“With two incomes, you’ve still got a strong opportunity to get into the Darwin property market.”
ABS data revealed the number of first home buyers in the NT increased 23.4 per cent to 258 in the year to June 2025, which was the strongest growth in the nation.
The house at 64 Jingili Tce, Jingili, is for sale for $569,000. Picture: realestate.com.au
Mr Cullen said new arrivals to Darwin were also looking to forgo renting for the same reasons.
“They realise how high rents are and, comparatively, how low property prices are, and that spurs them to buy sooner than they might have,” he said.
The latest rental data from SQM Research showed the median rent in Darwin was sitting at $777, up 14.2 per cent in the year to July.
This placed Darwin as the third most expensive Australian capital city for rent, behind Sydney ($1076) and Perth ($828).
The Darwin vacancy rate was sitting at 0.5 per cent in July, making it the tightest capital city rental market.
Separate research by MCG using PropTrack figures revealed homebuyers in some of the Darwin’s priciest markets were forking up to $43,000 in stamp duty.
MCG’s figures put today’s top buy-in at $43,957 for a house in Nightcliff, with house buyers in eight other suburbs shelling out more than $30,000 on average in stamp duty.
While other states offer stamp duty concession for first time buyers, in the NT, house and land package buyers can qualify for a stamp duty exemption.
First homebuyers can also qualify for the First Home Owner Grant of $10,000 to buy an established home before September 30, 2025, or the HomeGrown Territory Grant of $50,000 to build or buy a new home before September 30, 2026.
Non-first homebuyer can also apply for the FreshStart New Home Grant of $30,000 to buy or build a new home.
The home at 58 Chin Gong Cct, Driver, is for sale for $400,000. Picture: realestate.com.au
Mr Cullen said while the $50,000 new home grant was appealing to first homebuyers, many were still opting to buy established.
“The appeal of an established home is they can move straight in and can stop paying rent,” he said.
“With new homes, they have to pay rent while waiting for the build, build costs are quite high and it’s difficult to find house and land packages to meet criteria for (national) homebuyer schemes.
“First homebuyers are very concerned about stretching dollars that far and having two liabilities at once.”
Mr Mortlock said buyer incentives were a good development “in theory” but in practice would likely exacerbate the deposit burden by lifting prices.
“First-homebuyer schemes often increase prices by encouraging buyers to spend more,” he said.
“They do not address the root of the problem, which is that we are not building enough.
“Until we start building more, and a lot more, all these schemes do is kick the can down the road.”
However, HIA executive director Northern Territory, Luis Espinoza said the Territory’s buyer incentives were “spurring economic growth and kick starting home building across the Territory” with the HomeGrown Territory scheme receiving more than 920 applications.
NT Government data showed the program had approved 769 applications so far and paid out more than $12.5 million in grants.
This included more than 200 new builds in the pipeline.
“The scheme is boosting housing supply, driving confidence in the building sector, and underpinning population growth,” Mr Espinoza
“Housing is intrinsically tied to economic growth and vice-versa.
“Kick starting the Northern Territory’s economy requires measures to attract more people to the Territory as well increasing the supply of adequate and affordable housing.”
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