Singles on an average income and looking to buy a home can push the dream aside, unless they move to Hobart or Adelaide.
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The two cities allow an average income earner to buy a median-priced house alone, a measurement of official house price data and mortgage costs by comparison website RateCity found.
In Wollongong, a home buyer would need a salary well in excess of six figures to comfortably make repayments. The same goes for singles in Sydney.
The analysis considered the salary required to afford repayments on a 30-year loan and for an individual to not spend more than a third of their income on housing costs – a figure widely seen as the cut-off for housing stress.
In Wollongong and Newcastle, the home buyer would need a $125,384 and $162,232 salary respectively.
In Sydney, single home buyers needed to earn in excess of $135,000 to fund their mortgage.
Melbourne was more affordable for singles at $96,706, while Hobart and Adelaide even more so at $59,441 and $72,529 respectively.
These salaries were calculated in a record low interest rate environment, where the average variable rate was 4.74 per cent, RateCity data insights director Peter Arnold said.
“Our analysis reveals a reality that many young Australians are now living,” Mr Arnold said.
“Without a partner or family member to share mortgage costs with, the numbers paint a grim picture for millennials, many of which may be squeezed out.
“Even as part of a couple, east coast property prices are out of reach for many,” he said.
Five things singles can do to get on the property ladder
* Team up with siblings or close friends and buy a property together
* Ask your parents to go guarantor
* Avoid rent by staying at home with your parents, house-sitting or moving into a sharehouse to reduce rent costs.
* Increase your income with a second job, additional training or sideline business.
Source: RateCity