How much extra income you’ll need to buy in SA in 2026

SA homebuyers could find themselves needing to earn more than $7000 extra next year in order to be able to buy a property, as runaway price growth broadens the divide between the haves and the have-nots.

SQM Research has crunched the numbers on what buyers currently need to earn to buy and applied a projected growth pattern to forecast the potential income that would be needed to buy this time next year.

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According to their data, households currently need to earn a combined $153,777 to buy a median-priced $793,000 home.

This leaves them with a $634,400 loan, with monthly repayments of $3844, bringing annual repayments to $46,133.

A predicted 10.5 per cent increase in home values would bring the median combined dwelling price to $876,265, requiring a loan of $701,012 – the repayments of which would be $4024, or $48,292 a year.

In order to service this loan without sending themselves into mortgage stress, households will need to earn $160,974 – some $7197 more than they do now.

SQM’s analysis factored in two 0.25 interest rate cuts over the period and a maximum 30 per cent of household income go toward mortgage repayments.

Finder.com.au insights manager Graham Cooke said aspiring homeowners would need a pay rise or significant increase in deposit to buy an average home next year, despite interest rate cuts making the cost of debt cheaper.

“As long as the increases in prices remain bigger than wage increases property will continue to get more unaffordable, even if buyers get a little bit of rate relief,” he said.

“The average income required to buy a home is already significantly higher than the average wage.

“Needing to earn that much more in a single year will make buying a home even more of a struggle. It’s already a challenge and this will make it even more so.”

Here’s a whole bunch of houses househunders are likely to find it more difficult to get into. Pic: Supplied

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But the news might not actually be that bad for hopeful buyers after all, with a separate forecast by global accounting firm KPMG predicting the income jump may not be as severe as SQM’s prediction.

Their forecast is based off a predicted 5.6 per cent increase for houses over the next two years (taking the median price from $780,000 to $824,241), and 7.7 per cent for units (jumping from $540,000 to $582,350).

Taking this into consideration, they predict a unit seeker would need to earn $106,980 – $2,264 more than now – and a househunter $151,417 just $161.23 more.

Everybody’s Home – a national campaign dedicated to fixing Australia’s housing crisis – says more is needed to reduce the number of Aussies facing financial stress.

It has recently created a snapshot of the Sturt electorate, one of the key areas in the lead up to the election, which extends from Highbury in Adelaide’s northeast to Myrtle Bank in the inner south.

Everybody’s Home spokeswoman Maiy Azize. Picture: Supplied

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It revealed in that electorate alone 65 per cent of renters and 52 per cent of mortgage holders were experiencing financial stress, with 305 people experiencing homelessness.

“Without bold federal government action we will see more people falling into housing stress and homelessness,” spokeswoman Maiy Azize said.

“The next federal government must lift its ambition in addressing the housing crisis.

“Housing is a top priority for voters and will define this election – politicians need to listen and act for the electorate.”