PROPERTY MARKET UPDATE: AUTUMN SELLING SEASON KICKS OFF WITH HIGH CLEARANCE RATES
Autumn selling season is off to a strong start, Australia proves to have some of the most expensive house prices in the world.
How do Australian house prices compare to the rest of the world?
A group of economists at the European Commission looked at house prices across the world, and a little like Eurovision, Australia was included in its analysis.
No surprises that Australia nearly tops the list on a house price per square metre basis at more than 5,000 euros per square metre. The average house price in the United States, is under 1500 euros per square metre.
However, Hong Kong smashes Australia, at more than six times the price per square metre. The common finding of an analysis of this kind is that Australia has some of the most expensive housing in the world – if you want affordability, Bulgaria is the country of choice.
Pricing may be one thing, but relativity to income is also important. Given that Australia is such a wealthy country, this metric does push us down a little when we look at the years of income required to purchase a house. Affordability in Australia is better than New Zealand for example.
By way of comparison, under four years of average income is required to buy a house of average size in the United States, while in Australia, it’s 16 years. The median across all countries analysed is 10 years.
Source | Nerida Conisbee | 03 MAR 2020
