Canberra home owners have highest disposable incomes after mortgage payments: Mozo

Canberra home owners have highest disposable incomes after mortgage payments: Mozo
Jonathan ChancellorDecember 7, 2020

Canberra ranks as the best place to buy a property and still have enough disposable income to have a life, according to calculations by comparison site Mozo.com.au.

But you most likely have to become a public servant to be on the salary to afford the housing.

"When looking at the average after tax salary and the average mortgage repayment in each capital city, Canberra comes out on top with a handy $3,271 leftover to cover expenses and ‘having a life’ each month," Mozo director Kirsty Lamont said.

"Canberra’s high average salary, combined with its relatively low property prices (averaging $510,000) means you’re left with more cash than any other city.

"Canberra is closely followed by Perth then Hobart as the next most “property and lifestyle friendly” cities, with homeowners having around $3,000 leftover each month."

Perth has the nation’s second highest income to help pay down the mortgage and while Hobart has the lowest average income of its national counterparts, it enjoys the lowest property prices – with the average monthly mortgage repayment half of Sydney’s.

City

Avg monthly salary (Net)

Avg monthly mortgage repayment

% of income

What’s leftover

1.   Canberra

$5,651

$2,380

42%

$3,271

2.   Perth

$5,572

$2,380

43%

$3,192

3.   Hobart

$4,410

$1,571

36%

$2,839

4.   Brisbane

$4,966

$2,131

43%

$2,835

5.   Adelaide

$4,641

$1,914

41%

$2,727

6.   Darwin

$4,957

$2,474

50%

$2,483

7.   Melbourne

$4,791

$2,404

50%

$2,387

8.   Sydney

$5,069

$3,174

63%

$1,895

Source: Mozo.com.au as at 9/3/15

“If you look at the proportion of salary going towards a mortgage, Hobart (36%), Adelaide (41%) and Canberra (42%) are the three cities having to put the least of their income towards repayments,” said Lamont.

“Big property prices mean big mortgages and Sydney and Melbourne are not only slapped with high repayments, they’re also among the world’s top 10 most expensive cities. So, once you cover the cost of living, it doesn’t leave much leftover for the fun stuff.

“Not usually known as the capital of fun, it looks like Canberra is where it’s at if you want to splash your extra cash and not be a slave to your mortgage.”  

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

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