Soaring property prices leave middle-income earners priced out across the state
Buying a home in more than 300 suburbs across Queensland now requires an annual household income of over $200,000, putting property ownership out of reach for many middle-income earners, new analysis has revealed.
A study by comparison website Finder, using mortgage and PropTrack data, examined 1,005 suburbs across the state and found that only 159 suburbs remain accessible for buyers earning under $100,000 a year. With the median weekly salary in Queensland at $1,872 — or about $97,000 annually — most workers, including nurses, police officers, and teachers, are priced out of 846 suburbs.
Even traditionally affordable areas such as Ipswich, Logan, and Moreton Bay are becoming unattainable, with gross incomes exceeding $200,000 now needed to purchase homes in several suburbs there.
Greater Brisbane’s median house price has reached $880,000, requiring a gross annual salary of nearly $179,000 to manage monthly repayments of $4,325, assuming 30% of income is allocated to the mortgage. Apartment buyers fare only slightly better, needing an annual income of $123,052 to purchase an average unit.
“The money required to purchase a home in every capital city is well above the average salary,” said Taylor Blackburn (pictured above), personal finance specialist at Finder. “Keep in mind these figures assume you are using 30% of your salary going to your mortgage – ideally you’d be allocating less.”
Luxury beachside and riverside suburbs continue to command jaw-dropping incomes. Bilinga on the Gold Coast topped the list, with buyers needing an annual income of $902,557 to afford the median house price of $4.4 million. However, the suburb saw just 10 sales in the past year, likely skewed by developer purchases.
Teneriffe, one of Brisbane’s most exclusive areas, came in second. Households need to earn $834,929 annually to manage repayments on the median house price of $4.1 million.
Across Queensland, there are now eight suburbs — spread between Brisbane, the Gold Coast, and the Sunshine Coast — where households must earn over $500,000 a year to purchase a home.
The Finder analysis also revealed that one-income households earning Queensland’s median salary of $70,000 are shut out of nearly all housing markets. Such buyers can only afford homes in 62 suburbs or units in 71 suburbs across the state.
In Greater Brisbane, single buyers earning $70,000 cannot afford a house in any suburb and have just three unit options: Brassall, Kooralbyn, and Beachmere. On the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, no suburbs remain affordable for single-income households earning the median salary. Even in the cheapest market, Stapylton, a gross salary of $73,221 is required.
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