| I looked for some official statistics, and while I'm not sure if I'm in the right place, it paints a rather different picture from yours. The figure for housing costs implies a typical home value of more like 300K USD or 400K AUD. Also, if this is accurate, Australia is more of a nation of homeowners than of renters. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/housing/housing-occ... "66% of Australian households owned their own home with or without a mortgage. 32% of households rented their home. Average weekly housing costs were: $484 for owners with a mortgage; $53 for owners without a mortgage; and $366 for renters." 484 AUD/week = 1500 USD/month
366 AUD/week = 1150 USD/month It also says housing costs for renters have increased 51% in 20 years (to 2018) which is an average of 2% annually. "housing costs are defined as the sum of rent payments; rate payments (water and general); and mortgage or unsecured loan payments (if the initial purpose of the loan was primarily to buy, add, or alter the dwelling)" |
Sydney and to a lesser extent Melbourne are both completely unaffordable (A$1m+) to new home owners on an average income unless you're prepared to live in a unit or commute 2 hours a day to the CBD. Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth on the other hand are significantly cheaper and one could still afford a nice family home.
Also worth noting is that the huge boom in prices only really started in the early 2000s. People who bought prior to that period make up a disproportionate number of owner occupiers.