Housing Affordability Just Hit a Record Low, Here’s What it Means For Your Clients
New data from REA Group shows housing affordability has fallen to its lowest level on record, with a typical-income household only able to afford 12% of homes sold in FY26, even lower than the previous record set during the GFC.
What’s happening
- A median-income household (~$125,000) can now afford just 12% of homes sold nationally
- Mortgage repayments are consuming 35.5% of average household income, the highest since 1989
- Lower-income households are hit hardest — those at the 30th percentile can afford just 2% of homes sold
Why it matters for your clients
If you’ve got clients who feel like the numbers “just don’t add up” right now, they’re not imagining it. This is likely to come up more with first home buyers feeling priced out, and upgraders worried their borrowing power won’t stretch as far as they hoped. It’s a good reminder that strategy matters more than ever — the right structure, timing, and use of schemes like the 5% Deposit Scheme can make a real difference to what’s achievable.
What to do with this?
If a client’s feeling discouraged by the headlines, send them our way before they rule anything out. We’ll run the numbers properly and show them what’s actually possible, sometimes it’s more than they think.
Got a client weighing up their options? Get in touch and we’ll take it from there. Click here to book your FREE consultation.