Finder’s data delivers a huge blow to hopeful SA househunters

The good news: A new report shows how much you need to earn to buy in every SA suburb. The bad news: It’s almost three times more than it was in 2020. See every suburb here.

Hopeful househunters now need to earn more than double what they did this time four years ago in order to purchase a median-priced property, placing the Great Australian Dream almost entirely out of reach of hopeful single-income househunters.

According to exclusive Finder data, those looking to buy a median-priced house in metropolitan Adelaide of $480,000 in July 2020 needed a before-tax income of $64,098.

Fast forward four years, when the median was $751,000, and you now need to earn $148,282 – an increase of 131 per cent, or a whopping $84,184.

Units have increased by almost as much. Back in July 2020 if you were looking to buy a looking to buy a median-priced house of $330,000 in Adelaide you would have needed to needed an income of $44,067.

With the median unit increasing to $501,000, you now need to earn $98,920 – $54,853 or 124 per cent more than you did four years ago.

Finder head of consumer research Graham Cooke said it was an enormous blow for first homebuyers.

“The analysis shows that for many suburbs, home ownership is a vanishing dream,” he said.

“Property prices and the cost of debt are significantly outpacing wage growth, and as such, affordability has slipped even further out of reach compared to 2020.

Finder’s head of consumer research Graham Cooke.

Mr Cooke said buyers should consider whatever schemes and incentives were available to help them get into the market.

“Once you do take the plunge into buying a home, your mortgage is likely to be your biggest expense,” he said.

“Make sure you shop around for the most competitive rate on your home loan.”

PropTrack data comparing house prices and incomes from July 2021 to July 2024 shows Davoren Park has had the greatest increase in the income needed to buy, with the median price increasing from $182,250 to $427,500.

The income needed to buy has risen from $23,716 to $84,408 – an increase of 256 per cent.

Buyers looking to bag a bargain in Andamooka will find it harder, with the amount needed to buy a median-priced property there – $25,000 in 2021 and $64,500 now – increasing 291 per cent from $3,252 in July 2021 to $12,735 today.

PropTrack economist Paul Ryan said housing affordability has deteriorated at an alarming rate since 2020.

“We’ve gone from what was probably one of the best times for affordability in 2020 to the worst in the space of four years,” he said.

PropTrack economist Paul Ryan. Supplied.

Home price rises over the past four years were well above historic trend, growing about 24 per cent faster each year than over the years from 1986 to 2019, Mr Ryan noted.

Mr Ryan says prices had risen because of housing supply constraints, rapid population growth and low unemployment.

“Supply chain disruptions for builders, plus the cycle of population growth, have contributed to strong demand relative to supply.

“But another big factor that is less spoken about, which underlies the price growth, is that we’ve had relative macro- economic stability. The number one thing that affects someone’s decision to buy a home is their job prospects. For most people, they have been strong. That’s made them more confident to make long-term house decisions.”

Jesse Sumner at his business, Custom Steel Appeal at Mount Barker – the business he has grown to help pay off his mortgage sooner and help his kids get into the property market down the track. Picture: Keryn Stevens

Jesse Sumner, 35, of Mount Barker was working in IT when he developed his side hustle Custom Steel Appeal, making custom metal signs and garden art.

He and his wife have since built it up to the point where he has quit his former job to concentrate full-time on his business – a move he says should enable him to pay off his mortgage quicker and help set his children up for the future.

“My wife Amy and I have young kids and we’re looking at a future where it will almost be impossible for them to get into their own home, so we’re making this pivot with the idea that it will give us more financial freedom to allow us to help them get into the property market in the future,” he said.

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Originally published as Finder’s data delivers a huge blow to hopeful SA househunters