The latest report in our Financial Indicator Series, the "Bankwest First Time Buyer Deposit Report" revealed first time buyers across Australia needed to save for 3.7 years to raise a deposit to buy a house, even taking account of the first home owners grant.
The report is an unprecedented insight into the uphill battle facing an increasing number of young Australians who need to squirrel away years and years of savings just to afford a deposit. It examines first time buyer deposits in 554 local government areas (LGAs) across Australia, based on local incomes.
In capital cities there are only three LGAs (2% of the total) where it takes a first time buyer couple less than two years to save a house deposit. In regional Australia, first time buyers could save a deposit in under two years in 44% of LGAs.
To raise a conservative deposit for a house at the median Australian house price of $390,500, a first time buyer couple must raise $78,100 and save $17,296 annually from a combined income of $86,477, taking 3.7 years with the first home owner's grant of $14,000.
Data for the First Time Buyer Deposit Report is derived from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Census (2006), the ABS Wage Cost index with house prices from Residex.
Download a copy of the full report and a breakdown on each state below:
