Near 10 years to get a deposit for a house in the regions

A new report this week showed this is not something that is just happening in the property hotspots of Sydney and Melbourne.

With prices of homes in the regions also rising at an incredible rate, saving for a deposit for a home in the regions has never taken long according to the latest ANZ CoreLogic Housing Affordability Report.

It takes 9.4 years to save enough for deposit on a regional house, and 7.9 years for a unit, based on a 20 per cent deposit for a median-priced property, according to the report.

According to the report, "... the greatest affordability constraint currently facing regional populations is saving for and obtaining a mortgage, with ongoing housing purchase costs remaining relatively low."

The problem is most pronounced in regional NSW, now the third most expensive market in the country, relative to incomes, after Sydney and Melbourne.

The news comes as property price growth continued in regional Australia in the last month, with dwelling values increasing at twice the rate of capital city markets.

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The latest CoreLogic figures show that dwelling prices in combined regional markets grew by 2.2 per cent during the month of November, compared to 1.1 per cent in capital cities.

The growth trend was strongest in Regional Tasmania, up 2.5 per cent in November and 29.8 per cent over the year, and regional NSW, up 2.4 per cent and 29.1 per cent respectively.

For Canberra buyers looking at off-the-plan apartments, news laws enacted this week, will give them a sense of greater security in their buy.

Canberrans have welcomed new laws that will better protect home buyers from having their off-the-plan contracts cancelled by developers in the ACT.

The Civil Law (Sale of Residential Property) Amendment Bill 2021 was agreed to on Wednesday, with the new laws coming into effect from November 9, 2021, the date the bill was presented to the Assembly.

Under the new laws, developers must receive a buyer's consent to cancel a contract under a sunset and development delay clause.

The developer must give 28 days' written notice to the buyer explaining the reasoning.

Reece Peart, whose townhouse contract was rescinded by the developer 3 Property Group, created a Facebook group for others in the same situation.

"We've all come together, shared our own stories ... and I definitely think it's had an impact on the decisions and lawmaking processes as well," he said.

Finally for those looking for a top spot to raise a family, a new study has identified top suburbs in Wollongong that fit the bill.

Mount Keira (No.6) and Cordeaux Heights (No.17) were the Illawarra suburbs to make the list of the top 20 family housing markets in NSW.

"The 20 suburbs in this ranking are generally affordable - 13 of them have a median house price under $1 million. They're also quite diverse - nine of the locations are in Sydney and another 11 in regional markets," said Well Home Loans CEO Scott Spencer.