Teachers, nurses, police officers and childcare staff are being priced out of the Canberra housing market, with new research warning even dual-income households are struggling to afford homes.
The Property Council of Australia says about a third of the cost of a new dwelling in the capital is made up of taxes, charges and compliance costs.
ACT & Capital Region executive director Ashlee Berry warned new developer licensing laws risked adding further expense without delivering stronger consumer protections.
“Every extra dollar of red tape is a dollar added to the price of a new home,” Ms Berry said.
A survey of 12 suburbs, released by the Property Council, shows detached houses are now unaffordable for every type of essential worker household modelled – including couples with above-average earnings such as an ambulance officer and a nurse.
“In many cases, renting is also beyond reach, leaving workers with little choice but to face housing stress, move further away from their jobs, or leave the region altogether,” Ms Berry said.
Median house prices in Canberra have jumped by more than 115 per cent since 2007, while wages have grown just 84 per cent.
The median house price has now passed $1 million, with units nearing $600,000.
The report applied global affordability benchmarks, which define housing as unaffordable when it consumes more than 30 per cent of household income.
For single-income workers the situation is especially bleak.
A childcare worker earning just under $59,000 would need to spend more than 40 per cent of their income to rent a modest two-bedroom unit.
A police officer on $91,000 could not afford to buy or rent in most suburbs.
Even a dual-income household of an ambulance officer and a nurse earning almost $180,000 cannot afford a detached home in Canberra.
“These are the people who keep our city safe, healthy and functioning,” Ms Berry said.
“They deserve the chance to live near their work, not be forced into rental stress or long commutes.”
The Property Council is urging the ACT Government to incentivise housing for essential workers through targeted tax breaks and charge remissions, streamline planning approvals, implement “Missing Middle” reforms to allow more townhouses, duplexes and mid-rise apartments, and review housing taxes with a moratorium on new charges during the Housing Accord period.
“Without bold reforms, costs will keep climbing and essential workers will be forced further away or out of Canberra altogether,” Ms Berry said.
“If the people who keep our city running can’t afford to live here, Canberra’s liveability and future are in real danger.”
