▶ 2026-2045 = Projection
The divergence
Sydney: Median Property Price vs. Annual Income — 2004 to 2045
Historic data: ABS 6302.0 (earnings), CoreLogic/Domain (property). Projections: 6.5% property growth p.a., 3.5% wage growth p.a. Clearly labelled.
Median property price
Full-time annual income (ABS)
Projection (post-2025)
+$1.03M
The Gap Since 2004
Sydney property has risen $1.03M since 2004. Annual income has risen just $59,436 over the same period. Property grew 3.2× faster than wages.
$106K
What You Earn Today
The average full-time worker earns ~$106,652/yr (ABS Nov 2025). To buy the Sydney median at a traditional 3x ratio, you’d need to earn $500,000/yr.
24.9x
Projected 2045 Ratio
At current trajectories, a Sydney home will require 24.9 years of full-time pre-tax income by 2045. The longer you wait, the wider the gap becomes.
Where do you sit on the gap curve?
Enter your income and target property to see your personal affordability position — past, present and future.
$
$
Price at time of purchase
—
after growth during delay
Your income ratio
—
years of gross income to buy
Deposit needed (20%)
—
required at purchase
Sydney: Full Data Table — 2004 to 2045
Orange rows = projection
| Year | Median Property | Annual Income | Price/Income Ratio | Change from 2004 | $ Gap (price−income) |
|---|
“People ask me whether to wait for prices to come down. This chart is my answer. In 20 years of data, there has not been a single sustained period where wages caught up with property. The gap has always recovered and widened. Waiting does not make property more affordable — it makes it less.
I think about my own kids. I look at this chart and ask — what world are they entering? If we do nothing, if the trend simply continues, they will need to save decades of income just to buy a median home. That is not a future I accept. And it is not one you should either.
The question is never whether the time is perfect. The question is whether you can act now — so your family does not have to start from behind.”
I think about my own kids. I look at this chart and ask — what world are they entering? If we do nothing, if the trend simply continues, they will need to save decades of income just to buy a median home. That is not a future I accept. And it is not one you should either.
The question is never whether the time is perfect. The question is whether you can act now — so your family does not have to start from behind.”
Iti Mehrotra — Lead Portfolio Strategist, Strategic Portfolio Partners · 9 years as a client investor · 2 years as principal strategist
Data: ABS 6302.0, CoreLogic, Domain, PropTrack. Projections clearly labelled.
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