Quote:
Originally Posted by hammerfan
Honestly, wages vary by region. People in the midwest don't make as much as people on the east coast or west coast, but the cost of living is less there. As far as what would someone earn that's well off? I have no idea - it's not me, I can tell you that. I'm not poor, but I live paycheck to paycheck, and constantly have to count my pennies.
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Can an average person afford to buy a house of their own? I mean with a mortgage, not outright of course?
Because in Sydney (and to a lesser extent some other parts of Australia) this is becoming less common, with lots of people renting their whole lives - including people with reasonable jobs.
Put it this way - a cheap apartment in the Sydney area (not a nice part of Sydney or very close to the CBD) may cost in the vicinity of $300-$350K. To get a loan you would need 10% deposit and stamp duty. so about $40K. Conveyancing and other costs will add a few thousand. So you need $40-45K in savings just to enter the market.
There is a first home buyers grant that the government gives out to first home buyers of $7k but that is still a fair way off what you need.
It would be hard to save that whilst paying rent and expenses.