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Australian Housing Market

When you read articles about Australian housing affordability, it is often comparing the single average adult wage to house prices, from generations ago.

The articles generally say something like, ‘a house was worth three times the annual average wage back in the sixties and is now worth 10 times the average wage. This shows housing has become unaffordable.’

You can’t compare the two because back in the sixties it was one wage bidding on real estate.

The state of Australian housing

The days of Dad going off to work, while Mum tends the children are long gone, just like the black and white TVs of that era.

It is now usually at least two incomes bidding on Australian real estate, land price has quickly factored that in. So you can’t compare the two figures.

These days you need to find historical figures for combined household income and compare the two.

When you do that you may find housing affordability hasn’t run away at all, but is simply keeping pace with wages.

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