Single women are finding it tougher to buy into the Australian property market than men with housing affordability worsening in many popular city and regional areas.
According to an analysis by industry super fund-owned bank ME, the number of single female loan applications issued by ME, fell by 14 points compared to only 5 points among single men.
The pay gap between men and women is likely to be part of the issue. Figures from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency show that women earn about 16 per cent less than men.
Overall, the number of single home loan applications issued with ME home loans fell by 9 points to 35 per cent of all loans over the past two years.
The average loan size for single-mortgage applications increased by 9 per cent to $355,000.
So where can singles find the most affordable housing?
Analysis of figures from CoreLogic RP Data by ME Bank shows some of the most affordable suburbs in Sydney are in the inner west and located within the Marrickville council region.
Some of the most affordable suburbs within 20 kilometres of the Sydney CBD are around the Canterbury, Bankstown and Parramatta regions to the west of the city.
“Melbourne’s Maribyrnong council has the most affordable suburbs to buy a house or unit within 10 kilometres of Melbourne, particularly Braybrook,” says ME Head of Home Loans Patrick Nolan.
“Brisbane has 13 suburbs within 20 kilometres of the city that have a median house price under $400,000. The most affordable suburb is Rocklea, followed by Tingalpa to the east of the city and Salisbury to the south.
“Within 10 kilometres of the Adelaide CBD, 18 suburbs have a median house value under $400,000. The most affordable suburbs are within the Port Adelaide-Enfield council area, in particular the suburb of Gepps Cross.
“Stirling council area has the highest number of affordable suburbs within 10 kilometres of the Perth CBD, particularly Osborne Park.
“Within 20 kilometres of the Perth CBD, the most affordable suburbs for houses are within the Swan council region, particularly Koongamia.
“Hobart is the most affordable capital city of Australia, with 17 suburbs within 20 kilometres of the CBD having e a median house value lower than $300,000,” says Mr Nolan.
What are property prices doing?
New South Wales-based singles experienced the greatest jump in the average loan amount, rising by 16 per cent to $422,000, followed by Victorian singles by 11 per cent to $348,000, says ME research.
November figures on the property market show prices across the country have recently softened.
Melbourne house prices dropped by 1.5 per cent in November while Sydney prices rose by just 0.8 per cent. The combined capital city index grew by just 0.2 per cent over the month, according to Core Logic.
Despite this east coast property prices are out of reach for many Australians.
