Both sale and rental markets reported slight improvement in affordability

The housing market of New South Wales recorded an improvement in affordability in the first three months of 2020, according to the latest report from the Real Estate Institute of Australia.

The report determined the affordability of the housing market by analysing the share of income needed to meet mortgage repayment and rents.

Over the quarter, the proportion of income required to meet home-loan repayments in NSW decreased by 0.4 to 42.5%. However, this proportion was considerably higher than the national average of 34.7%, making NSW the least affordable state in which to buy a home.

The number of loans to first-home buyers in the state decreased by 11% compared to the previous quarter but rose by 33% from last year. The average loan amount, however, increased to $502,552.

First-home buyers made up 32.9% of NSW's owner-occupier market. They also accounted for 24.5% of all first-time buyers in Australia during the quarter.

Overall, the number of dwelling loans in the state slowed down compared to the preceding quarter. The average loan size, however, increased to $595,315.

NSW had the largest average loan size across the country, 22.4% higher than the national average.

Affordability also improved in NSW's rental markets, with the share of income needed to afford median rents decreasing to 27.5% compared to last year. This, however, represented a slight increase from the previous quarter.

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