The great Australian dream of home ownership now takes years of saving, two good incomes and the ability to not break out in a rash when staring at the six-figure mortgage required to buy your own patch of paradise.
According to the latest Housing Industry Association affordability report, the average monthly mortgage repayment has hit $2,986 a month in Sydney.
"It's even worse than when interest rates were up at 17 per cent," according to HIA chief economist Simon Tennent.
"The days of paying a mortgage on a single income are well and truly over," Tennent says. "House prices have stretched beyond any increases we've had in incomes."
Even property investing experts like John Edwards are asking if it is worth the sacrifices for first-home buyers to get into the market. "When a large percentage of young people allow themselves to borrow to the poverty line just to own a house, you've got to wonder what it's all about," he says. "Life is short. Does it really matter if you rent?"
To most Australians, it does matter... but at what cost?
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