AMP Banking/REIA Home Loan Affordability Report — State-by-State breakdown
New South Wales
Sydney experienced the lowest median house price increase during the September 2003 quarter of 1.1%, except for Darwin where the median house price went down, taking the average house price in Sydney to $470,000. The increase for the year to September was 12.7%. The number of home loans issued in New South Wales increased by 5.1% and the size of the average home loan increased 3.3% $236,019. Average monthly loan repayments increased by 3.0% and median weekly family income increased to $1,073 during the quarter. New South Wales continues to have the highest proportion of family income required to meet the average loan repayments at 33.8%. Home loan affordability fell by 2.1% for the September quarter and by 8.5% for the year, the lowest recorded since June 1995.
Victoria
Melbourne’s median house price increased by 2.5% for the September quarter and experienced the second lowest increase in median house price for the year at 11.2%, with the average price only rising to $368,000. The number of home loans issued in Victoria increased 4.4% with the average size of the loan increasing by 5.2% to $197,871, the third highest amount in Australia. Monthly loan repayments increased by 4.9% and median weekly family income increased 0.8%. The proportion of family income required to meet average mortgage repayments rose from 26.6% to 27.7%, representing the third highest amount for the country just behind Queensland and New South Wales. Home loan affordability deteriorated 4.0%, the third highest amount for Australia, and by 9.4% for the year. This is the lowest value recorded for Victoria since September 1991.
Queensland
Brisbane recorded one of the highest increases in median house price for the quarter, up 9.0% to $315,000 for the September quarter, just behind Hobart, and saw the third highest increase for the year at 27.5%. Queensland experienced the largest increase in the number of home loans issued in the September quarter, representing a 11.7% increase, and recorded the second highest average loan value increase of 5.5%. Monthly loan repayments rose by 5.2%, the largest amount behind the Northern Territory. Queensland has the second highest proportion of family income required to meet the average loan repayments at 27.8%. Home loan affordability fell by 3.2% in the September quarter and by 12.5% for the year.
South Australia
Adelaide’s median house price increased by 2.3% over the September quarter and by 25.0% for the year, taking the median house price to $225,000. The number of new home loans issued in South Australia only increased by 0.7% for the quarter, the lowest increase for the country behind the Northern Territory where the number fell. The average home loan increased by the second lowest amount as did monthly loan repayments for the quarter at 0.4% and 0.2% respectively. South Australia was only one of two states or territories that experienced a fall in the proportion of family income devoted to meeting the average loan repayments, falling to 23.9%. Home loan affordability was almost unchanged at 0.1% for the quarter and 9.7% for the year.
Western Australia
Perth provided a 4.1% increase in median house prices in the September quarter, and 16.0% for the year, with the median rising to $218,900. The state experienced one of the lowest increases in the number of home loans issues at 2.9% and had the third lowest increase in loan size at 2.2%. Monthly loan repayments increased by 1.9%. The proportion of family income required to meet average mortgage repayments rose slightly to 23.3%. In Western Australia home loan affordability for the September quarter had a small fall at 0.5%, bettered only by South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory where affordability improved. At 7.0%, Western Australia experienced the lowest decrease in home loan affordability for the year.
Tasmania
Hobart had the highest increase in median house price for the September quarter and for the year, with increases of 9.2% and 45.3% respectively. The average house price was $196, 600. The number of new home loans rose by 8.9%, the second highest amount across the nation. The size of loans increased by 4.2% and monthly loan repayments increased by 4.0% for the quarter. Tasmania was the only place to experience a fall in median weekly family income, falling by 0.2% to $805.The proportion of family income needed to meet the average mortgage repayment rose from 20.1% to 20.9%. Home loan affordability deteriorated by the second largest amount for both the September quarter and the year at 4.1% and 14.9% respectively.
Northern Territory
Darwin recorded an increase of 3.4% in the median house price for both the quarter and year to September. This took the average house price to $213,000. The Northern Territory was also the only place to experience a fall in the number of home loans issued, falling by 12%. The Territory had the largest increase in loan size, increasing by 19.6% and monthly loan repayments increased by 19.4%. The proportion of family income needed to meet the average mortgage repayment rose from 14.1% to 16.8% over the quarter. The Northern Territory experienced the largest fall in home loan affordability, plummeting by 16.0% for the quarter and 21.5% for the year.
Australian Capital Territory
Canberra experienced a low median house price increase of 2.0% for the September quarter, but the second highest median price increase for the year at 30.7%. The median house price was $311,000. The number of home loans issued increased by 3.8%. The Australian Capital Territory saw the lowest increase in home loans size at 0.2% for the quarter and monthly loan repayments were unchanged, at $1,380. Median weekly family income increased by 0.7% for the quarter. This was one of only two areas to experience a fall in the proportion of family income required to meet the average loan repayment, falling to 18.1%. It was the only area to see an improvement in home loan affordability in the September quarter with a rise of 0.7%, but saw a deterioration over the year of 12.8%.