Home building boost needed to fix housing affordability, says property industry

Australia needs to match first-home buyer incentives and other housing assistance with more home building, as the nation's housing affordability deteriorates to its lowest level ever, the property industry warns. The Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) has called on governments to make a raft of changes to home building nationwide in response to new research revealing the dire state of the housing market. The realestate.com.au Housing Affordability Report 2026 found that a median-income Australian household earning approximately $125,000 could afford just 12% of homes sold during the last financial year. It was the lowest proportion on record and dramatically below the 43% it could afford five years ago, with home ownership becoming almost unobtainable for lower-income Australians. A household earning $76,000 could afford only 2% of homes, while mortgage repayments on a median-priced home now consumed 35.5% of average household income — the highest proportion since 1989. Home buyers have been constrained by higher interest rates, greater living costs and housing prices at or near record levels despite recent home value declines. Australia's property industry is calling ...