Home owners and tenants paid a little bit more for mortgages and rent.
Camera IconHome owners and tenants paid a little bit more for mortgages and rent. Credit: Supplied/Getty Images/iStockphoto

WA housing affordability improves for buyers, tenants

Natalie HordovEastern Reporter

BUYING and renting a home in WA became more affordable in the March quarter 2018 according to research by the Real Estate Institute of Australia and Adelaide Bank.

The latest Housing Affordability Report found the proportion of median family income required to meet average loan repayments was 23.6 per cent, 0.3 percentage points lower than the previous quarter.

However it was 0.2 percentage points higher than the same time last year.

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WA was one of the most affordable states in which to buy a home during the reporting period, with only the ACT (19.7 per cent) and the NT (19.8 per cent) requiring smaller proportions of median income to meet loan repayments.

Homes were least affordable in NSW where 36.5 per cent of the median income was needed to meet loan repayments.

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Camera IconImage Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Potential homeowners in WA borrowed less in the March quarter, with the average loan size decreasing to $350,545, down 0.6 per cent from the December quarter.

However, borrowings increased 3.7 per cent compared to the same time last year.

The number of first-home buyers fell 10.5 per cent over the quarter to 3578, but increased 0.5 percentage points from the previous 12 months.

They made up 35.1 per cent of WA’s owner-occupier market.

They too borrowed less over the quarter, with the average loan to first-home buyers falling 2.5 per cent to $308,033, but remaining stable when compared to the same time last year.

WA was the most affordable place to rent in Australia.

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Camera IconImage Credit: Supplied/Supplied

The proportion of family income needed to meet median weekly rent payments fell 0.1 percentage points to 16.3 per cent and was 1.3 percentage points lower than the March quarter 2017.

The next most affordable state was the ACT at 18.5 per cent.

By comparison tenants required 30.1 per cent of their income to meet rent payments in NSW, followed by Tasmania at 28.1 per cent.

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