House prices to force teachers, nurses, ambos and fireys out of Sydney

Owning a home in Sydney has become so out of reach for frontline workers like firefighters, teachers, nurses and paramedics, that one in four of these providers of essential services want to quit their vital jobs or pack up and leave Sydney.

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Firefighters can’t afford to buy a house in the city in which they save other people’s homes from burning down.

Owning a home in Sydney has become so out of reach for firefighters, as well as teachers, nurses and paramedics, that one in four of these providers of essential services want to quit their vital jobs or pack up and leave Sydney.

A new report has found these “key workers” are also putting off having kids (29 per cent), or are living with their family and friends (23 per cent) to help save money.

Sydney house prices are not affordable for frontline workers like firefighters and paramedics. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

According to a PwC report for Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia and Teachers Mutual Bank, close to half are currently working overtime to save for a mortgage.

Sam Judge, 27, is a casual primary school teacher at Oxley Park Public in St Marys and has a second job tutoring kids after school, but she still can’t imagine ever being able to afford to buy in a western Sydney suburb like Erskine Park, where the median house price is $735,000.

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Ms Judge can’t find steady work but earns about $65,000 as a casual teacher, out of which she’s paying off a $50,000 HECS debt she accumulated while studying for her Masters of Education (Primary).

“I don’t think it’s realistic that I’d get in to the property market on my salary,” Ms Judge told The Sunday Telegraph.

“My partner and I have delayed having children. We’ve been talking about having children for five years, but we can’t afford it.

“I haven’t considered changing jobs because I love teaching and having a hand in the future kids of this country, but about once a month I consider leaving Sydney.”

Sam Judge, 27, can’t afford to buy a house in Sydney on her teaching salary. Picture: Liam Driver

On average, teachers make $87,000 a year, paramedics make $80,000, firefighters make $84,000, registered nurses make $73,000, and enrolled nurses make $57,000.

It takes a single-income key worker 12 years to save a 20 per cent deposit for a home in Sydney.

Although home prices have dropped close to 14 per cent since the peak in July 2017, prices would need to plummet a further 46 per cent for the typical key worker to save up enough for a 20 per cent home deposit within five years.

Registered nurse Emma Newton, 28, moved to Sydney from Moss Vale in the Southern Highlands seven years ago, to pursue a career in cancer research which only happens at major metropolitan hospitals.

Four of Sydney’s major hospitals are within a 10km radius of the CBD, where the median house price is $2.14m.

How much our frontline workers make in one year is not enough to buy a house or unit in Sydney.

Ms Newton moved to Coogee to be closer to her work in Randwick after she spent a year driving 30 minutes home to Rockdale after a 12-hour night shift with the windows rolled down and music blasting to stay awake.

“Now I live within walking distance because it wasn’t safe commuting. There’s a three-year wait for staff parking and on-street parking is hard to find,” Ms Newton said.

“I can’t afford to buy a house in Sydney anywhere near where I work and it’s only going to get worse.”

The looming exodus of key workers couldn’t come at a worse time, with the federal government predicting demand will increase by 12 per cent for teachers, 16 per cent for nurses and 25 per cent for ambulance workers by May 2023.

“If our key workers can’t find homes, our cities can’t function,” Teachers Mutual Bank CEO Steve James said.

The exodus would mean lower teacher-to-student ratios in schools, longer wait times and more readmissions because of early discharges at hospitals, and slower responses by ambulances and firefighters, according to PwC Australia.

The accounting firm estimated it would only cost the federal government $32.3 million to make the costs of buying a house tax deductible for Sydney’s key workers — like it is for property investors — which would halve the number of years key workers need to save for a deposit.

Originally published as House prices to force teachers, nurses, ambos and fireys out of Sydney