Manager of Treasury's household and labour unit, Phil Garton, has said buying a first home in Australia is now more unaffordable than ever as a result of rising interest rates and a shortfall in the supply of dwellings, but also claimed that those people paying more than 30 per cent of their income towards housing aren't necessarily struggling.
Mr Garton said annual shortfalls in supply have reached at least 30,000 dwellings, spurred on by rising incomes, population growth and smaller households.
"It's either the worst on record or around the worst on record,'' he told the first day's sitting of the Senate Select Committee on Housing Affordability in Australia in Canberra yesterday.
Mr Garton spoke just hours before the Reserve Bank announced it would keep its cash rate steady at a 12-year high of 7.25 per cent for the month.
Surprisingly, renters aged 65 to 74 are having to commit almost 30 per cent of their income to rent, which is more than their homeowner peers, and those people approaching retirement are far from owning their home outright with substantial mortgages to bear.
Join the discussion on Everything else about home loans
|