Housing affordability surged in the final months of 2012, according to new research released this week by the Housing Industry Association (HIA).
The HIA-CBA Housing Affordability Index increased by 5.5 per cent in the December 2012 quarter, representing an 18.4 per cent advance on the same period of 2011.
“This is the eighth consecutive quarter of increase in the index, bringing it close to levels not seen since the depths of the GFC during 2009,” said HIA Senior Economist, Shane Garrett.
“For regional areas, affordability is at levels last seen during the early 2000’s decade.
“Affordability is on the increase in every part of the country”, he added.
“This has been driven by the weakness of price developments as well as the two cash rate reductions effected by the RBA in the final quarter.
“Continued growth in earnings has also served to make housing more affordable”.
The report showed that the improvement in affordability was widespread across all seven capital cities as well as the non-metro regions of each state (the Northern Territory was not included in the analysis).