Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

The government, in building an Australia for the future, is determined to ensure that whatever can be done to preserve the dream of Australians to one day own their own home does not just remain a dream but can still be a reality. The problem that we faced coming into office was that any measure of housing affordability in this country represented some stark figures indeed. The average house cost represented some four times the average annual wage back in 1996 but, as of the end of last year, represented some 7½ times the average annual wage. That is a huge change over time. The average size of a first home buyer mortgage has more than doubled, from $107,000 at that time to $248,000 as at the end of last year. These figures are then reflected in how much first home buyers are spending on mortgage repayments as part of their total income. Back in 1996 they spent 15.2 per cent of their total income on mortgage repayments. As of the end of last year it was getting up towards 30 per cent. These are clear-cut measures of a real decline in housing affordability, and everyone understands this core fact. If, back in the 1996 period, a new house was going to cost you some four times your average annual wage and if, by the end of the period in office occupied by the Liberals, that had risen to 7½ times, that is a huge change. That is what is reflected right across the Australian community. The practical challenge that we face is what is to be done about it. What we did about 12 months ago was convene a housing affordability summit in opposition.

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