Queenslanders need a $30,000-plus pay rise this year just to keep pace with the property market, with new data revealing the income required to buy a home is rising about eight times faster than wage growth.
While the average full-time worker’s salary increased by about $3,600 in FY2025–26, analysis of the income threshold for banks to approve a standard house loan surged by an average of $30,258 in the same period.
It means homebuyers would need to work an extra 11 hours every week at the average hourly rate just to cover the 12-month jump in required borrowing power following this month’s interest rate hike.
Canstar’s research shows the statewide income to satisfy lenders has surged to $177,554, leaving a $73,840 shortfall against Queensland’s typical $103,714 full-time wage (Australian Bureau of Statistics).
A 20 per cent deposit and 3 per cent serviceability buffer were factored in, matching the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) average new loan rate of 6.49 per cent, compared to 5.50 per cent rate in 2025.
Canstar group manager of research Josh Sale said the numbers proved higher interest rates had battered affordability.
“Buying property has shifted from being a question of house prices to a question of debt serviceability and income strength,” Mr Sale said.
“Buyers are facing a double squeeze: declining borrowing power means they need a significantly higher salary just to qualify for a loan on a cheaper home, while persistent inflation continues to erode their capacity to save a deposit.”
Across Greater Brisbane, the salary benchmark spiked by $23,000 from last year to $164,438 for houses and units combined (median $1.03m).
For househunter in the city’s middle-ring, even dual-income couples were locked out, with combined household income of $227,140 needed for a typical house in Chermside priced at $1.34m – a jump of more than $31,000.
Further out, families need a household income of $155,183 to secure a $970,000 house in Springfield Lakes, marking a $30,430 leap from 2025.
At the prestige end, a buyer must earn a whopping $865,143 afford a $5.2m median-priced home in Teneriffe – up $262,815.
Even the unit market demanded top-tier wages, with the entry barrier for a typical apartment in Paddington jumping by more than $43,000 to a $168,406 salary.
Meanwhile, the Toowoomba suburb of Harristown recorded the state’s largest percentage increase in required income for apartments, up by 57.4 per cent to $106,882.
A separate analysis from Loan Market shows average owner-occupier mortgage repayment in Queensland hit $4,815 a month after the RBA’s latest official cash rate hike to a 15-year high of 4.6 per cent.
A buyer with an 80 per cent loan on an average $1.13m house is now spending 66 per cent of their pre-tax income on mortgage repayments alone, according to the broker giant.
By comparison, in 2011 when the cash rate sat at a similar 4.5 per cent, an average house cost $428,800 and repayments consumed just 39 per cent of average earnings.
Loan Market CEO Sam White said prospective homeowners were forced to “pause and recalibrate their budgets”.
“Whenever interest rates rise, borrowing capacities shrink,” Mr White said.
“While this may slow lodgements in the short term, serious buyers will adapt and reassess their options.”
Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) CEO Antonia Mercorella said first-home buyers were hardest hit by the affordability gap, with more young buyers leaning on the Bank of Mum and Dad to get a foot in the door or turning to family for help with ongoing mortgage repayments.
“Given the discrepancy between what you earn and what you can buy, more young adults are remaining living under their parents’ roofs for longer, allowing them to save more towards a deposit,” Ms Mercorella said.
“This is creating a sandwich generation who are helping to house both their elderly parents and adult children.”
Outside the capital, workers in lifestyle destinations and regional hubs needed up to 70 per cent more to service a loan.
On the Gold Coast, Mermaid Waters house hunters need to earn $385,458, a jump of $89,534.
In Cairns, the salary for a house in Palm Cove spiked by almost 25 per cent to $187,282. In Townsville, the income needed to buy an entry-level unit in Cranbrook surged by 38 per cent to $75,484.
Ms Mercorella warned buyers waiting for a price crash would likely be disappointed, noting Queensland remained insulated from a major downturn.
“We don’t have enough housing to meet the needs of our growing population,” she said.
“Queensland continues to benefit from strong population growth, continued interstate migration, a resilient labour market, and highly desirable liveability.”
