How much you need to earn to buy in SA

A new report lays SA’s housing affordability crisis bare. Find out how much you need to earn to be able to buy a house or unit in 489 SA suburbs or towns in our interactive table

Tom Bowden

@tommyjbowden

3 min read

February 3, 2024 - 1:47AM

News Corp Australia Network

Property

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A new report paints a grim picture of just how difficult it is to buy a home in South Australia on a single income.

Finder analysis of PropTrack data to December 2023 reveals that of the 489 suburbs or regional towns the report has either house or unit data for, a South Australian sole purchaser on the average SA salary of $71,900 can afford to buy a median-priced home in just 21 of them.

All but one of these are set in Adelaide’s regional areas, with Salisbury the most affordable metropolitan option, where a minimum annual salary of $70,515 is needed to purchase a $358,650 median-priced unit.

The report analyses house sales over the 12 months to December 2023 for 365 suburbs or towns, and 123 suburbs or towns worth of unit sales for the same period.

The town of Fisherman Bay just north of Port Broughton on the Yorke Peninsula requires the smallest annual salary to buy, with a median-priced house of $80,319 requiring an annual income of just $15,792 to buy.

The Iron Triangle of Port Pirie, Whyalla and Port Augusta continue to offer investment or first-home opportunities, with median-priced houses in Port Pirie West, Port Augusta, Whyalla Norrie and Whyalla Stuart all within reach of those on a $50,000 annual salary.

At the other end of the spectrum, Toorak Gardens houses need the state’s highest earners to buy them, with the minimum household income required to purchase a median-priced house of $2.323m being $456,735.

REISA CEO Andrea Heading. Supplied

Real Estate Institute of South Australia chief executive officer Andrea Heading said she was concerned Adelaide’s rising property prices were making home ownership unattainable.

“There’s a limited supply of stock at those pricepoints and when something does become available there’s a big market competing for that product and driving the price up,” she said.

“If you can only buy a property valued at up to $475,000 on an average income, that limits your options further in what is already a competitive pricepoint.

“It’s not hard to see why so many first-home buyers are reliant on ‘the bank of Mum and Dad’.”

Concerningly, the salary required to purchase has increased in every single suburb over the past 12 months, the report shows.

While buyers found themselves priced out of suburbs they could afford last year, Roxby Downs homes recorded the smallest increase in salary needed to buy. Pic: Supplied.

Roxby Downs in the state’s north, and Woodforde in the eastern foothills, recorded the smallest increases in the minimum salary needed to buy at 13 per cent.

To put this figure in context, the most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show the average South Australian wage increased by 4 per cent, meaning the salary needed to buy in Roxby Downs and Woodforde increased at three times what salaries increased during the period.

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The increase was greatest in Elizabeth North, in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, where the minimum income needed to buy a median-priced property has increased by 47 per cent over the past 12 months – almost 12 times the rate at which salaries actually increased during the period.

While single-income buyers have limited options, home ownership opportunities open up significantly when you add a second salary to the mix.

A combined $143,800 household income unlocks median-priced house and unit options in 307 suburbs or towns.

Believe Housing Australia Executive General Manager Stacey Northover

Believe Housing Australia Executive General Manager Stacey Northover said more help was needed for those struggling to buy.

“We know the situation is dreadful for those on the lowest incomes, but this survey demonstrates that the housing system is also failing those on middle incomes, including those in full-time work,” Ms Northover said.

“A shortage of affordable housing means they are competing in the same market as people on higher incomes and don’t stand much of a chance of finding a home in a location that meets their needs.

“Housing supply is what is needed, and the Housing Australia Future Fund will be a good start, but we need to continue the conversation around how to increase housing supply.”

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