Data reveals what you need to earn to buy in all Geelong suburbs

Only a handful of Geelong locations are now within reach of buyers with an income under $100,000, new data reveals. See what you need to earn to buy in every suburb.

Mel and Tim Graham have just purchased their first house in Newtown. Picture: Brad Fleet

Buyers need a minimum household income of $77,000 to purchase a median priced property in Geelong’s cheapest suburb as the affordability crisis bites.

Only eight suburbs are within reach of households earning less than $100,000, according to new analysis from finder.com.au.

Herne Hill’s unit market is the easiest place to get a rung on the property ladder, but still requires a $76,929 minimum income, based on a 20 per cent deposit.

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Units in Norlane, Corio, Newcomb, Lara, Grovedale and Bell Park and homes in Corio, Norlane and Whittington round out the city’s most affordable locations.

At the top end, buyers Wallington, where the median house price is $2m, need a household income of $380,472.

More than $370,000 is also required to buy in Bellbrae and Lorne.

GSC Finance Solutions managing broker Matt Turner said it had never been harder for buyers, who were selling cars and cutting back on entertainment to pursue their home ownership dream.

“They are looking at really squashing the budget as far as they can,” Mr Turner said.

“We have even heard of clients taking out second and third jobs to raise enough cash and then obviously have that income to service the debt.”

This one-bedroom unit at 4/257 Church St, Herne Hill on the market for $295,000 to $320,000, well below the suburb’s median unit price of $404,000.

First-home buyers are increasing looking to areas like Corio, where 6 Vigar Court will set them back $480,000 to $520,000.

He said the bank of mum and dad remained a popular deposit source for many clients, while government deposit guarantee schemes that only require homebuyers to stump up 5 per cent of the deposit, also offered a valuable leg-up.

Mr Turner advised househunters to talk with a mortgage broker or bank early to determine borrowing capacity, cut down on “evil” credit card and car loan debts and to save at least a home loan repayment every month to demonstrate a capacity to pay.

7 Whiteley St, Mount Duneed has a $600,000 to $660,000 price guide.

Buyers need a household income of $380,000 to buy a median home in Wallington, where 91 Arrigo Drive is listed with $2.9m to $3.2m price hopes.

“Just keep an open mind to the different options, whether it be buying a slightly older house that you might choose to renovate in the future or looking at a suburb that you might not have at the top of your list,” he said.

First-home buyers Mel and Tim Graham count themselves lucky after recently securing a fixer-upper in Newtown for $635,000.

Mrs Graham said they had saved for three years to scrape together a 5 per cent deposit while renting but would not have been able to buy the three-bedroom house without the deposit guarantee scheme.

“We planned for Belmont and we had just been priced out of everything,” she said.

“When we originally started saving it was achievable and then prices have just gone up so we lost at a couple of auctions.”

Finder head of consumer research Graham Cooke said the first rung on the property ladder got higher with every cash rate rise.

Finder head of consumer research Graham Cooke.

“The deposit you need hasn’t gone up too much, but the number of suburbs (nationally) where you need to earn more than $500,000 a year is alarming,” Mr Cooke said.

The Finder analysis assumes homeowners are not spending more than 30 per cent of their gross income on repayments and a 6.16 per cent interest rate.

The Australia Bureau of Statistics puts the median Victorian household income at $91,468.

Bellarine Property, Barwon Heads director Ben Roberts said many buyers in premium locations like Wallington were cashed up after selling other properties or in highly paid jobs.

“It’s quite surprising how little shortage there is of buyers,” Mr Roberts said.

Gartland, Geelong agent Nathan Ashton says emotional buying has been replaced with mechanical negotiations as buyers stick within their financial limits.

Gartland, Geelong agent Nathan Ashton said first-home buyers had been a driving force in the market over the past six months but were prepared to walk away if a home was over budget.

He said parents continued to lend support, with four sets turning out to inspect an unit for their offspring in Wandana Heights last weekend.

Originally published as Data reveals what you need to earn to buy in all Geelong suburbs