THE dream of home ownership is slipping further away for first-home buyers after new data revealed the high level of income required to afford a house or unit in Newcastle.
The minimum household income required to buy a house in Newcastle was $237,103 (based on a median value of $962,711) according to Finder.
Those in the market for a unit in Newcastle would need to earn a minimum household income of $181,582 to gain a place in the property market (based on a median value of $737,281).
The income required to buy a house or unit in Newcastle was above the national average and higher than capital cities such as Melbourne where a household income of $171,235 was needed to comfortably service a house mortgage (based on a median value of $870,000).
The data showed the minimum income to afford the average Australian house price was $182,000 and for units, almost $130,000.
The average full-time salary in Australia is around $96,000, according to Australia Bureau of Statistics data.
Finder's head of research Graham Cooke said buying a home was becoming increasingly out of reach for many Australians.
"Looking at Sydney, it's around an income of $260,000 to buy a house and Newcastle is not far off that," Mr Cooke said.
"People are looking at stretching themselves financially in order to purchase a property.
"The bottom rung of the housing ladder is getting further and further away from people who have not yet saved up a deposit."
Finder's analysis was based on the average variable home loan interest rate, an 80 per cent loan to value ratio with a 20 per cent deposit and 30 per cent of gross income as the threshold for mortgage stress.
Insight into the skyrocketing costs to secure and service a loan for a median-priced house followed the Reserve Bank of Australia's interest rate hike on Tuesday.
The RBA lifted the cash rate a further 25 basis points to 4.35 per cent after holding interest rates steady for four months.
The latest rate hike was the 13th increase in 19 months.
While home ownership was arguably more achievable for buyers who shared mortgage costs with another person, Mortgage Choice Newcastle broker Peter Byrne noted that it was not out of reach for those on a single income.
"It always comes back to how much deposit the buyer is going to have," Mr Byrne said.
"I had a client earning around $90,000 and she could borrow up to $450,000, she had no other liabilities and she saved up a $50,000 deposit.
"She could get herself a little place in Cardiff for $500,000, so it really depends on what you're after."
Mr Byrne said an increasing number of first-home buyers were trying to get a foot on the property ladder as the rental market continued to tighten.
He said single buyers were turning to other solutions to get into the market.
"I have clients asking, 'If I can't do it myself, can I buy with a friend?'," he said.
"A lot of the lenders are becoming more open to that idea and you can have a separate loan against the same property so you are responsible for your loan and they're responsible for theirs
"There are different options for buyers coming through and we are seeing that."
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