Australian Property News

Dreams of home ownership slipping away

Posted on Tuesday, February 02 2010 at 6:10 PM

Owning a home is really starting to become just a dream for Sydneysiders, according to the Urban Taskforce.

A recent RP Data/Rismark report shows the city’s median house price in the December quarter was $600,000; an increase of 10.6 per cent from the same time in 2008.

The report suggested Sydney’s median house price could reach $700,000 this year.

The Taskforce’s chief executive Aaron Gadiel says the dream of home ownership is receding into the distance for far too many people.

“The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show that 64 per cent of Sydney households own their own home – down from 70 per cent at the beginning of the decade,” he says.

“Sydney’s level of home ownership is now lower than every Australian capital city, bar Darwin.”

Gadiel blames the situation on the lack of new home development in NSW; he says more people are forced to rent as a result.