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Australian home prices fell 1.1 per cent in September, the sixth consecutive monthly decline.
For anyone locked out of the market, that might sound like welcome news. For someone who recently bought with a small deposit, it could feel terrifying.
And that’s the contradiction at the heart of Australia’s housing debate: we want homes to become more affordable, while expecting homeowners’ wealth to keep rising.
Those expectations can’t always coexist.
But falling prices alone don’t guarantee affordability.
When interest rates rise, buyers can generally borrow less, and repayments on a comparable loan become more expensive. A cheaper property can still leave a household struggling to qualify for the mortgage.
Existing borrowers face another problem: their debt doesn’t fall just because their home’s value does.
Buy with a small deposit and even a modest price decline can wipe out much of your equity. If the loan exceeds the property’s value, that’s negative equity.
It doesn’t automatically mean losing your home. Keeping up repayments remains crucial. But it can make refinancing or selling much harder, particularly if you lose your job or need to move.
My view is that governments need to be honest about that risk when promoting pathways into ownership.
Helping people overcome the deposit hurdle can be valuable. It doesn’t solve the challenge of servicing a large loan, and it doesn’t create another home.
The answer shouldn’t be to prop up prices indefinitely, either. That would preserve the very barrier keeping other Australians out.
We need more homes where people need them, infrastructure that supports development, and stronger options for renters, including social and affordable housing.
Recent buyers facing genuine hardship also deserve practical assistance and early engagement from lenders.
Politically, this is a test of whether governments treat housing primarily as somewhere to live or an asset whose price must always climb.
A healthy housing system should let people find a secure home without betting their financial future on endless price growth.
Because cheaper houses are only progress if people can actually afford to live in them.
Craig Hill is a Brisbane-based author, journalist, teacher, business consultant and social justice campaigner. He is the General Manager of the Australian Book and Language Studio.
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