Is Joe Hockey right about housing affordability?

JOE Hockey has come under fire for telling first time home buyers to “get a good job that pays good money” but is he right? Should Australians just stop whingeing?
The Treasurer offered his housing tips on Tuesday when providing an update on the government’s crackdown on dodgy foreign housing investment.
Asked if he thought Sydney housing is unaffordable, Mr Hockey said: “No.” “If housing were unaffordable in Sydney, no one would be buying it,” he said.
Treasury secretary John Fraser said last week there is little doubt there is a housing bubble in Sydney and the top end of the Melbourne market.
Mr Hockey has said he doesn’t think there is a bubble: “The starting point for a first homebuyer us to get a good job that pays good money.
“If you’ve got a good job that pays good money and you have security in relation to that job then you can go to the bank and you can borrow money.
“That’s readily affordable, more affordable than ever. (It’s more affordable to) borrow money for a first home now than it’s ever been.”

So was he right? We’ve pulled together some statistics. You be the judge:
INTEREST RATES:
The Reserve Bank’s cash rate sits at a record low of two per cent compared with 7.5 per cent in 1995.
HOUSE PRICES:
According to AAP, the median Sydney house price is around $900,000, more than 11 times the average annual wage. Twenty years ago it was about six times the average annual wage.
Sydney prices have jumped 39 per cent in three years according to a HSBC report, while Melbourne prices were up 22 per cent. The average price for the rest of the country was 10 per cent.
SYDNEY IN 1995:
Median weekly household income before tax according to 1996 Census: $700-$999
Median house price according to a university report: $196,750
Time it would take to save a 20 per cent deposit ($39,350) based on saving 30 per cent of an income of $700 ($210 a week): 3.6 years
SYDNEY IN 2015:
Median weekly household income before tax according to 2011 Census: $1447
Median house price in March according to Domain: $914,056
Time it would take to save a 20 per cent deposit ($182,811) based on saving 30 per cent of income ($434 a week): 8.1 years
INVESTMENT PROPERTIES:
About 15 per cent of new home loans were taken out by first-home buyers in April, compared to 41.2 per cent taken out by investors.
The proportion of first home buyers has almost halved since 2009 when they made up 31.4 per cent of the market.
Harley Dale, chief economist for HIA told ABC the vast difference could be explained by an “extraordinary stimulus” injection for first-home buyers to combat GFC (in 2009).

WAGES:
The median weekly household income in Sydney is $1447 or $75,244 a year (before tax) according to the 2011 Census.
According to the Daily Telegraph, a registered nurse or midwife with eight years’ experience in a public hospital earns just under $80,000.
The highest grade a state school teacher will earn is just under $100,000 a year.
Mr Hockey’s parliamentary salary is $365,868.
JOBS:
The unemployment rate in Australia is currently 6.1 per cent. In June 1995 it was 8.4 per cent.

MELBOURNE IN 1995:
Median weekly household income before tax according to 1996 Census: $500-$699
Median house price according to a university report: $129,000
Time it would take to save a 20 per cent deposit ($25,800) based on saving 30 per cent of $500 income ($150 a week): 3.3 years
MELBOURNE IN 2015:
Median weekly household income before tax according to 2011 Census: $1333
Median house price in March according to Domain: $638,445
Time it would take to save a 20 per cent deposit ($127,689) based on saving 30 per cent of income ($399 a week): 6.1 years