NSW housing affordability plunges to record low despite falling prices

Property seekers across NSW have become snared in a financial vice where house prices are in a tailspin but owning a home has never been more out of reach. An alarming realestate.com.au study has revealed housing affordability across the state and country has slumped to a record low – despite an explosion in the volume of properties selling with six-figure discounts. Prices have been falling across NSW and Sydney for six-successive months but the falls have not been enough to mitigate the higher costs of buying brought about by interest rate hikes. Realestate.com.au’s latest housing affordability index noted the share of homes listed at prices affordable for an average income earner was the lowest since records began in the 1995 financial year. A unit in this Ryde building recently sold for $748,300, which was below the $899,000 the previous owners paid. A household earning the average NSW income could only afford 9 per cent of the homes currently listed for sale, the index revealed. Saving a deposit was also deemed to be harder due to sluggish wage growth, rampant inflation and a higher cost of living. “Low-income households are effectively locked out,” the realestate.com.au repor...