{"id":158494,"date":"2025-11-02T08:48:32","date_gmt":"2025-11-02T08:48:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/158494\/"},"modified":"2025-11-02T08:48:32","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T08:48:32","slug":"australians-are-being-priced-out-of-the-property-market-and-first-home-buyers-schemes-might-not-be-helping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/158494\/","title":{"rendered":"Australians are being priced out of the property market and first home buyers schemes might not be helping"},"content":{"rendered":"

The quiet south Brisbane suburb of Mount Gravatt was once an affordable place to buy a decent-sized family home.<\/p>\n

But in a very short period many have been priced out.<\/p>\n

A recent auction for a three-bedroom townhouse captures just how much prices have skyrocketed, highlighting the nation’s fast-growing housing affordability crisis.<\/p>\n

More than 20 registered bidders piled into the home in Mount Gravatt East, about 10 kilometres from Brisbane’s CBD, hoping to make it their own.<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

The Mount Gravatt East auction attracted 20 registered bidders for the three-bedroom townhouse. (ABC News: Melanie Vujkovic)<\/p>\n

Online, the listings categorised the property at under $1 million, but within seconds of the auction beginning, the price was already at $1.1 million.<\/p>\n

Several players were in the game at first, but it quickly whittled down to a duel between two young couples.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The auction ended in a duel between two young couples. (ABC News: Melanie Vujkovic)<\/p>\n

The home would eventually sell for more than $1.5 million, well over the suburb median.<\/p>\n

Even the excited new buyers Samuel and Ally told the ABC they did not expect it go for “that much.”<\/p>\n

“That’s just the market at the moment, and we are so excited to get to live here,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Samuel said.\"A<\/p>\n

Samuel and Ally were pleased to secure their dream home in Mount Gravatt East. (ABC News: Melanie Vujkovic)<\/p>\n

In the past five years, the median house price in Mount Gravatt has grown by about 77 per cent, from $731,000 to about $1.3 million, according to Cotality data.<\/p>\n

Ten years ago, the median house price in the area was only $555,000, and in 2000 it was just $174,000.<\/p>\n

The suburb’s price growth far exceeds the national average but illustrates the soaring costs many buyers face.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

House prices in Mount Gravatt have rapidly grown in the past five years. (ABC News)<\/p>\n

Just 25 years ago the average home was about four times the median income. Today, it is more than eight times the median income, according to a recent Grattan Institute analysis.<\/p>\n

“We’re trying to find something that’s affordable \u2026 basically looking for a three-bed townhouse,” Tom McCarthy told ABC News at the Mt Gravatt auction.<\/p>\n

“We’re kind of priced out of houses, unless you want to get something that’s pretty dodgy.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Young buyer Tom McCarthy feels priced out of many Brisbane homes. (ABC News: Melanie Vujkovic)<\/p>\n

Housing affordability rapidly declines in past five years<\/p>\n

Experts say this affordability problem has been years in the making.<\/p>\n

“Housing affordability has certainly declined over the past 30 or 40 years and actually very significantly in the last five years,” said Hal Pawson, emeritus professor of UNSW, with a background in housing and policy.<\/p>\n

“If you’re looking to buy the kind of typical house of the 1980s in 2025, that’s much, much harder than it would have been for the [Baby] Boomer generation,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Agents say there is currently a lot of competition for entry-level homes. (ABC News: Lucas Hill)<\/p>\n

Mr Pawson said several factors including low interest rates, government policy and unwavering demand have contributed to the problem.<\/p>\n

“[Government] has largely failed to face up to the need to modernise or reform some of our tax settings, which are a legacy of the last century,” he said.<\/p>\n

“We haven’t had a major change in property tax settings since 1999, and yet the housing market is very, very different now from how it operated before the year 2000.”<\/p>\n

First home buyer schemes sometimes ‘make inflation worse’<\/p>\n

Auctioneer David Holmes, who sold the Mount Gravatt townhouse, said it was a sign of hot market conditions.<\/p>\n

“Certainly, our first home buyers are out in force, which is exciting,” he said.<\/p>\n

“There’s definitely a lot more confidence. I think it’s probably going to knock a few investors out of the market.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Auctioneer David Holmes said first home buyers are out in force. (ABC News: Melanie Vujkovic)<\/p>\n

Last month, the federal government expanded its first home buyers’ 5 per cent deposit scheme, which some in the industry said was fuelling competition for entry-level properties.<\/a><\/p>\n

Amanda Buchanan, 44, keeps her eyes on property listings, but feels she has been priced out of her neighbourhood, even with first home buyer incentives.<\/p>\n

She would be eligible to access the federal government scheme, and also the NSW government’s stamp duty concessions \u2014 but only if the property was under the value of $800,000.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Single mum Amanda Buchanan feels locked out of the Sydney property market. (ABC News: Jack Ailwood)<\/p>\n

The single mother said she would struggle to find a two-bedroom apartment for under $1 million in Sydney’s inner west.<\/p>\n

The median unit price in Dulwich Hill is $973,000. Five years ago it was $814,000.<\/p>\n

In 2010, the median unit price was $554,000, while in 2000 it was just $265,000.<\/p>\n

“If we move far enough out to be able to afford a property, we actually lose all of the things that give us our quality of life, particularly for my son,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

she said.<\/p>\n

“We’d lose access to my son’s therapies because he is autistic. He has regular therapies that he attends [in this area].”<\/p>\n

Do you have a story to share?\u00a0Email\u00a0Specialist.Team@abc.net.au<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The New South Wales capital remains the most unaffordable place to buy property in Australia.<\/p>\n

“I do have a very good income, but as a sole parent, I need to buy a two-bedroom property because I have to have something that is suitable for my child,” she said.<\/p>\n

“The reality is that a two-bedroom property is more than I can afford for a mortgage. I can get a deposit together, I can get approval, but the total cost is just unreasonable for a single income.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Amanda Buchanan can’t relocate too far from her current rental due to services her teenage son can access nearby. (ABC News: Jack Ailwood)<\/p>\n

Experts have repeatedly warned first home buyer schemes, which drive demand, do not fix affordability problems.<\/p>\n

“[Successive] governments have tried to help first home buyers with these first home buyer assistance schemes,” Mr Pawson said.<\/p>\n

“The general impact of those has been to make inflation worse rather than moderating it.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Hal Pawson says first home buyer schemes don’t fix affordability problems. (ABC News: Scott Preston)<\/p>\n

“Over the 2010s, around about $20 billion was given away effectively by the taxpayer through first home owner demand-side assistance.”<\/p>\n

Sydney buyer’s agent, Kitty Parker, has watched many people grow increasingly frustrated with the market over the past five years, as property prices surged.<\/p>\n

“It’s getting substantially worse, especially among that first home owner cohort \u2014 things are lifting really fast,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Kitty Parker says many new buyers are feeling disillusionment and frustration over rising prices. (ABC News: Scott Preston)<\/p>\n

Many of Sydney’s neighbourhoods have become entirely unaffordable for many buyers, she said.<\/p>\n

“Even two years ago or so, if you had a budget of $1 million as a first home buyer, you could quite comfortably get yourself a really lovely little two-bedroom unit,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Gone are those days.”<\/p>\n

Calls for more ‘interventionist’ solutions<\/p>\n

Amanda Buchanan has not entirely given up hope that one day she might own a place of her own.<\/p>\n

“I would much prefer to be able to look at something like the [government-supported] rent-to-buy programs they used to have in their 80s,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Maybe when my son is older, I will be able to buy something for my retirement \u2026 but I know compared to friends I’m losing out by not creating that wealth.”<\/p>\n

Australia’s $127,000 housing affordability question<\/a><\/p>\n

The national project to fix housing affordability is off to a slow start but the reasons are complex.<\/p>\n

Mr Pawson suggested the government invest in more interventionist schemes to help tackle the affordability problem.<\/p>\n

“I think what needs to happen is that we need to be looking at both finding ways to expand the supply of housing, particularly if it’s reserved for first-time buyers only, and also at the same time dampening the demand for housing,” he said.<\/p>\n

“If we pretend that that doesn’t exist, if we just focus on the supply side only, we’re never going to solve this problem.”<\/p>\n

He pointed to shared equity schemes like the federal government’s Help to Buy program, and investing in more supply-side home builder programs for low to middle income earners<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We’ve just forgotten that this is a kind of approach \u2014 a more interventionist approach, a more ambitious approach to helping first-time buyers \u2014 which kind of went out of fashion.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The flow on impact of the rising property prices means Ms Buchanan is also having to pay more for rent and faces constant insecurity and upheaval on short-term tenancies.<\/p>\n

“If we’re doing this well and it’s still challenging for us, it really worries me for a lot of other sole parent families, the challenges that they’re facing, what choices they’re having to make.”<\/p>\n

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