Housing affordability declined nationwide in June, according to Adelaide Bank and the Real Estate Institute of Australia’s latest housing affordability report, which showed the proportion of median family income needed to meet average loan repayments increased by 1 percentage point from the previous quarter to 31.4%.

However, the number of first home buyers rose 14% from March.

“Compared to the corresponding quarter in 2016, the number of first home buyers went up in Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, with both territories recording very solid FHB growth of 49.6% and 40.0% respectively,” said Darren Kasehagen, head of business development at Adelaide Bank.

Rental affordability increased in June, as the rate of family income required to meet median rents decreased by 0.6 percentage points to 24.3 per cent. “This improvement was recorded across all states and territories except in the Australian Capital Territory which was stable. In fact, it costs less on average to meet mortgage payments in Tasmania and the Northern Territory than it does to rent,” Kasehagen added.

According to the report, the average loan size to Australian borrowers is now at $386,664 – a 3.7% rise from June and 4.5% higher from the same period last year.

Related stories: