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Real estate’s most useless statistic

21 NOV 2019 By Grace Ormsby 2 min read Hotspots

One of the most useless statistics in real estate for those looking to jump on the property ladder for the first time is the median house price, an expert has flagged.

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Propertyology’s managing director, Simon Pressley, has acknowledged that the cost to buy a house in this country varies drastically depending on where you look: “From $100,000 in outback Australia, to circa $380,000 in wonderful Armidale and $6 million in Vaucluse.”

In a similar vein, he said a household income will range from $30,000 to several million dollars.

“One of the most useless statistics in real estate is the ‘median house price’ – or median household debt – to ‘household income’ ratio,” he said.

It led him to advise: “When it comes to housing affordability, the most relevant statistic is the house price that an individual household income can afford.”

“Just ask any bank!”

Mr Pressley offered up five non-traditional ways that Australians can purchase property

But he also noted that “there are more opportunities than most realise”.

Those who live in Australia’s more expensive cities naturally need a bigger deposit if they want to buy an owner-occupier property in that expensive city, but the expert said: “That’s their choice.”

“Those with a genuine interest in exploring the best long-term option for them to acquire real estate will start by considering 100 per cent of their options before making the biggest financial decision of their life.”

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RELATED TERMS

Affordability
Affordability refers to a product or service that is inexpensive and accessible for people with limited means.
House
A house refers to a building or property used as living quarters or an individual’s place of permanent or temporary residence.
Median
Median is the middle point or value in a sorted, ascending or descending, list of data.
Property
Property refers to either a tangible or intangible item that an individual or business has legal rights or ownership of, such as houses, cars, stocks or bond certificates.
Grace Ormsby

Grace Ormsby

AUTHOR

Grace is a journalist across Momentum property and investment brands. Grace joined Momentum Media in 2018, bringing with her a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) from the University of Newcastle. She’s passionate about delivering easy to digest information and content relevant to her key audiences and stakeholders.

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