Research reveals where to buy if you earn an average salary

Research has shown Willmot is the most affordable suburb for those on the average NSW salary.

Willmot is Sydney’s most affordable suburb.

An analysis of median prices and lending rates has revealed those living on the average NSW salary of about $83,000 a year would only be able to afford a typical house in just one of Sydney’s 600 suburbs — Willmot.

This is if buyers take out a 10 per cent deposit and want to avoid spending more than 30 per cent of their income on mortgage repayments, the lending threshold most banks prefer.

The Finder.com.au research also shows buying opportunities have shrunk for higher income earners. Those on $100,000 a year can now only ­afford an average-priced detached house in 17 suburbs.

At the other end of the market, an average house in Point Piper, Sydney’s priciest suburb, requires a salary of more than $1.5 million a year.

Housing affordability has been affected by a lag in wages growth.

Finder.com.au money expert Bessie Hassan said middle-income buyers had such limited affordable housing options because wages growth had lagged far behind the pace of property price increases.

The average price of a Sydney house has climbed 44 per cent since 2013, a jump of roughly $275,000, while wages have remained largely static.

The rate increases suggests Willmot will soon lose its status as the only suburb affordable for average earners.

“The average earner is going to be completely priced out of Sydney this year,” Ms Hassan said.

Electrician Luke Greco, 22, is one of the few first-home buyers to get into the market this year, and says he made sacrifices to do so.

Mr Greco lived with his parents while saving up enough to buy a block of land in Jordan Springs near Penrith, where he will build a house next year.

“It wasn’t easy; I worked all around the country to help save,” he said.

An average house in Point Piper, Sydney’s priciest suburb, requires a salary of more than $1.5 million a year.