Unaffordable property: WA frontline workers excluded from homeownership in traditionally affordable suburbs

Some of Perth’s most valuable workers who serve on the frontline — caring, protecting and educating — are being priced out of home ownership, even in suburbs once synonymous with the word “affordable.” Police officers, teachers, nurses and paramedics can no longer afford to buy in traditionally lower-cost areas like Armadale, Midland and Gosnells, according to new research released by the Property Council of Australia. The report, Beyond Reach: Mapping Perth’s housing crisis for frontline workers, found that detached houses in these areas are now too expensive for single-income frontline workers — and largely unaffordable even for dual-income households where both earn above-average wages. Since 2020, Perth’s median house prices have soared more than 65 per cent, while rents have jumped more than 83 per cent — creating what the Property Council describes as an unprecedented affordability crisis. The report mapped affordability prospects across 15 suburbs, including Padbury, Ellenbrook, Beaconsfield, Rockingham and Ballajura for a variety of average workers — including public servants — and for single-income households with a bureaucracy wage, 10 of those 15 suburbs were “impossibly unaffordable.” Property Council WA executive director Nicola Brischetto said that without an urgent mindset shift towards prefabricated homes and the like, home ownership will only become more out of reach. “We will continue to see escalating prices and less affordability while we have a shortfall of supply, so the only way out really is to be building more homes,” she said. Even renting a house was found to be out of reach, and renting a unit was only affordable for police officers in three of the report’s 15 locations. Registered nurse Rebecca Pizzey knows the struggle all too well. “The rental prices are going up which blocks nurses being able to save,” Ms Pizzey said. “I’ve worked for 21 years. I would only be able to borrow $330,000 to $390,000. So what can you afford for that if you’re on your own and you don’t have any other means of income. “Nurses are being out-priced in the city locations near hospitals, so we’re forced out to the city’s fringes, causing lengthy commutes and increasing fatigue driving to work.” She said the emotional and financial burden is forcing many of her colleagues to reconsider their careers altogether. “There are lots of discussions about how long can I do this for, what is my plan next, how are we going to better our situation, we can’t do it with nursing any more,” Ms Pizzey said. “It does make it to that point where people need to quit their jobs. They might switch careers and they might switch States — and they are doing that. “We have a health system that’s in crisis and that will be exacerbated if we continue to push our nurses to work crazy hours just so they can put a roof over their heads.” The report also reviewed the prospects of administrative assistants, electricians, childcare workers and shop assistants. “Even for dual-income households with competitive wages, home ownership is almost beyond reach it Perth,” it concluded. “Only . . . an ambulance officer and nurse earning a combined $211,124 annually can afford a detached home in Perth — (and that’s) only found along Perth’s eastern urban fringe.” Kara Thomas, president of the Nurses Professional Association of Australia, said she is “appalled, but not surprised” by the findings. “Nurses and midwives have been telling us for years, their wages are no longer enough to live on, let alone buy a home in the communities they serve,” Ms Thomas said. “Inflation has eroded wages, effectively delivering a pay cut. House prices have nearly doubled in the last five years, but our wages most certainly haven’t.” She said the association has heard from members sleeping in cars, couch surfing or enduring punishing commutes just to get to work. “Single mothers tell us they’re forced to choose between proximity to work and access to childcare, because both simply aren’t often available in the same suburb,” she said. “When the people who save lives can’t afford to live, the system is broken. This report doesn’t just highlight a housing crisis, it exposes a system that undervalues nurses and midwives.” The affordability problem is not isolated to healthcare workers. Wayne Evans, secretary of the Sworn Officers Professional Association, said the system is “fundamentally disconnected” from what frontline workers actually earn. “Police officers earning $96,606 annually would need to save for nine years just for a deposit, while firefighters on $84,199 face over 10 years of saving,” he said. “Even paramedics at the top of their pay scale ($127,600) need seven years to afford a deposit — and that’s assuming they save 20 per cent of their income without spending a cent on rent, food, or other necessities.” The worsening affordability crisis comes as housing supply reaches record lows. Just 2981 properties were listed for sale in Perth at the end of August — the lowest number since records began, according to the Real Estate Institute of WA. Winter listings have also fallen to their lowest point since 2019. Adding to the concern, ANZ economists recently forecast Perth’s median house price would reach $984,117 by the end of 2026 — more than $100,000 higher than today’s median. Ms Brischetto said: “We need to start thinking differently about what housing looks like, how we deliver it, embracing technology and innovation to drive increased productivity and efficiency in the building and construction process.”