Bulletin – December Quarter 2017 Housing Accessibility for First Home Buyers Abstract

The ability of Australians to purchase their first home (`housing accessibility') has been an important topic of public debate recently. In this article, we construct an indicator of housing accessibility that suggests that the median potential first home buyer can currently afford about one-third of homes in Australia. However, accessibility varies significantly with geographic location, and the quality of housing affordable to potential first home buyers has declined, particularly in Sydney.