Housing affordability and availability
Home ownership provides substantial economic and social benefits. In addition to wealth creation and financial security, home ownership is the basis for a number of positive social, family and community outcomes.
Availability of affordable homes for purchase
This measure shows the number of homes built or sold that are affordable for low- and moderate-income households.
Access to good quality, affordable housing is fundamental to wellbeing.
In 2019-20, the most recent data available, 55 homes built or sold in the ACT were affordable (per 1,000 low- and moderate-income households). This was higher than the national figure of 33 homes per 1,000 low- and moderate-income households.
As noted in the overview of this section, as of February 2026, there was no new data available for this measure. As part of developing the next ACT Housing Strategy, to be released in 2028, the ACT Government will investigate opportunities to strengthen housing data. We will be giving consideration to the ongoing suitability of current measures and data sources across the dashboard ahead of any further update.
Data source
Chart description
Line graph of rate of affordable homes built or sold for low- and moderate-income households, in 2-year intervals from 2014 to 2020. In 2020, 55.1 homes built or sold (per 1,000 low- and moderate-income households) were affordable compared to 40.7 in 2018.
Technical notes
This measure relies on calculations independently prepared by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) for the Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services. The calculations use the Survey of Income and Housing (SIH) and ABS analysis of real estate and Valuer General data. The ACT does not separately calculate this information.
The ABS announced in July 2025 that it would not be releasing data from its 2023-24 SIH survey, as the data did not meet the ABS’ high standards for official statistics. This leaves the most recent SIH data on the dashboard being for 2019-20. The ABS expects results from the 2025-26 SIH to be published from mid-2027.
Low-and moderate-income households are those with incomes in the bottom 40% (low) to 60% (moderate). Housing costs are affordable when the household spends no more than 30% of their gross income on mortgage payments.
Affordable home purchase
The proportion of income spent on loan repayments impacts how much money households have to spend on other things and can provide a signal of mortgage stress.
In December 2025, the ACT was the most affordable jurisdiction to buy a home, with 32.8% of median family income needed to meet average repayments on new home loans. This compares to 49.2% nationally and suggests that housing is, on average, more affordable for families in Canberra than in most other parts of Australia.
While the proportion of family income spent on housing in the ACT increased significantly from 2020 to 2023, in recent years this has moderated. These ACT trends align with changes seen in other jurisdictions.
Data source
Real Estate Institute of Australia, Housing Affordability Report.
Chart description
Line graph of the proportion of median family income needed to meet the average repayments of new home loans in the ACT, by quarter from quarter 1 2016 to quarter 4 2025. In December (quarter 4) 2025, 32.8% of median family income was needed to meet average repayments on new home loans compared to 36.3% in December (quarter 4) 2024.
Technical notes
Data is based on the median family income. This version of the data is a point-in-time version, current as of 16 March 2026. Any differences between information contained in the latest report and previous editions of the REIA Housing Affordability Report are due to revisions in the database that may be necessary from time to time.
