Which jobs pay enough to save for a Sydney house deposit
Single workers and many high earning couples would have largely found it impossible to save a Sydney house deposit over the past decade as property prices soared out of reach, shifting the goalposts for first home hopefuls.
Not one worker buying alone in the 17 occupations - from childcare workers to surgeons - analysed by left-leaning think tank The Australia Institute would have saved enough from June 2015 to December 2024, to reach a 20 per cent deposit for the median-priced Sydney house.
A central issue for the upcoming election is housing affordability, with both major parties announcing policies. Home buying hopefuls having less than a 20 per cent deposit usually require lenders' mortgage insurance, or a government guarantee to waive the LMI - set to be expanded to more first home buyers under a Labor plan.
Experts say having a 20 per cent deposit helps first home buyers avoid a situation where they lose their job while property prices are falling and need to sell their home for less than the loan, leaving them with a debt.
A single checkout operator would be most challenged getting to this, according to the data. If they began saving for a 20 per cent deposit ($159,925) for a median priced Sydney house in mid-2015 ($799,625), they would have $33,178 by December 2024.
But because the median house price in Sydney had by then risen to about $1.4 million, for which a deposit is $283,940, they would still be short $250,762.
'For people living in Sydney, saving for a home has become almost an impossibility unless you either have a very high-paying job, or you're married or a partner with someone with a very high-paying job,' Greg Jericho, chief economist at The Australia Institute said.
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