Australia’s housing market has hit record unaffordability — but behind the headline numbers is a generation of under-35s quietly abandoning milestones. They’re delaying starting families, skipping meals to pay rent, and now, in growing numbers, leaving the country altogether. A national survey of 1,020 young Australians found that more than half would consider moving overseas for more affordable housing. This is not a story about property prices. It is a story about what a broken housing system costs us as a society.
Five charts trace the collapse — from the city-level price explosion, to the rent squeeze crushing low-income households, to the deposit timeline that has turned homeownership into a generational fantasy, to the human milestones being quietly abandoned, to the structural supply gap that means relief is not coming soon.
In 2014, buying a home in most Australian cities was hard but achievable — house prices sat between 5 and 9 times median household income. By 2024, that ratio had blown out dramatically. Sydney now sits at nearly 14 times income, a level that places it among the most unaffordable cities in the world. Even Perth, long considered the affordable alternative, has crossed the “severely unaffordable” threshold of 5.1×. Hover over each line to explore how your city has changed.
Figure 1: Median house price as a multiple of median household income, by city, 2014–2024. The dashed red line marks the Demographia “severely unaffordable” threshold of 5.1×. Source: ABS 6416.0; NHSAC 2025.
Sources: ABS Residential Property Price Indexes (Cat. No. 6416.0); National Housing Supply and Affordability Council, State of the Housing System 2025; AIHW, Housing Affordability (October 2025). Ratio = median established house transfer price ÷ median household income.
National averages mask a brutal reality for low-income renters. While the headline figure of 33% of income on rent sounds manageable, households in the bottom 20% of income are spending upwards of 60–70% of their gross income on rent — more than double the standard 30% housing stress threshold. This chart shows that rental stress is not a Sydney problem or a Melbourne problem. It is a structural problem across every major Australian city. Use the legend to highlight income groups.
Figure 2: Median rent as a percentage of gross household income, by city and income quintile, 2024. The dashed line marks the standard housing stress threshold of 30% of gross income. Multivariate dimensions: city × income quintile × rent burden.
Sources: NHSAC, State of the Housing System 2025 (Chapter 4, pp. 71–82); AIHW, Housing Affordability (2025); CoreLogic Rental Review Q4 2024. Housing stress defined as >30% gross income on rent (ABS standard definition).
The deposit hurdle has become the central obstacle to homeownership for young Australians. The national average time to save a 20% deposit rose to 10.6 years in 2024 (NHSAC). But that average conceals vast differences by age and city. An 18–24 year old in Sydney — earning a median of around $24,000 per year — faces a 28-year wait. Even in Perth, the most affordable major city, the same young person faces 13 years. Bubble size reflects median dwelling price. Hover for full detail.
Figure 3: Years required to save a 20% deposit on the median dwelling, by city and age group, 2024. Bubble size encodes median dwelling price. Multivariate dimensions: city × age group × median income × dwelling price × years to save.
Sources: PropTrack / REA Group, Housing Affordability Report FY2025 (November 2025); ABS, Personal Income in Australia 2022–23; ABS Residential Property Price Indexes 6416.0 (Q4 2024). Bubble size = median dwelling price. Assumes saving 20% of take-home income toward a 20% deposit.
The Exit Generation survey (Home in Place, 2025) asked 1,020 Australians aged 18–35 what the housing crisis had cost them. The results are stark. 53% said they would consider moving overseas for more affordable housing. But for those who stay, the costs are deeply personal — delayed families, abandoned savings goals, and for many, skipped meals. The gender split reveals a divided coping strategy: women are more likely to cut back on essentials like food and healthcare, while men are more likely to take on extra jobs. Click a gender in the legend to isolate it.
Figure 4: Percentage of Australians aged 18–35 reporting each housing-related impact, by gender, 2025. Multivariate dimensions: milestone × gender × % affected. Source: Home in Place, The Exit Generation Survey Report (November 2025), n=1,020.
Source: Home in Place, The Exit Generation Survey Report (November 2025). n=1,020 Australians aged 18–35, surveyed September 2025. Gender differences reflect report narrative; some values cross-referenced with AHURI (2024) data.
The housing crisis is not simply a price story — it is a supply story. In 2024, Australia completed just 177,000 dwellings, against an underlying demand estimated at 223,000 (NHSAC, 2025). That shortfall of 46,000 dwellings in a single year adds to years of accumulated unmet demand. Meanwhile, net overseas migration, while moderating from its post-COVID peak of 518,000 in 2022–23, remains well above the level the construction industry can absorb. The shaded region shows the growing gap between what is built and what is needed. Hover or zoom to explore individual years.
Figure 5: Net overseas migration and new dwelling completions versus underlying housing demand, Australia, 2014–2025. Shaded region = supply shortfall (underlying demand minus completions). Source: ABS Overseas Migration; ABS 8752.0; NHSAC 2025.
Sources: ABS, Overseas Migration (December 2024 & December 2025 releases); ABS, Building Activity, Australia (Cat. No. 8752.0); NHSAC, State of the Housing System 2025. Underlying demand estimate from NHSAC (2025, p. 1). 2025 completions preliminary.
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