The newspapers frequently report on the increase in median house prices, but a better measurement might be ratios.
When I bought my first house in 1983 it cost three times my annual salary. When we moved 20 years later it cost seven times my salary and just this weekend, a modest house across the road sold for 17 times my salary. Admittedly, teachers aren't that well paid and their salaries haven't improved much over the years but how will anyone be able to buy a house soon?
Dennis Fitzgerald, Vic Melbourne, Australia
House prices go up as salaries stay the same
The newspapers frequently report on the increase in median house prices, but a better measurement might be ratios.
When I bought my first house in 1983 it cost three times my annual salary. When we moved 20 years later it cost seven times my salary and just this weekend, a modest house across the road sold for 17 times my salary. Admittedly, teachers aren't that well paid and their salaries haven't improved much over the years but how will anyone be able to buy a house soon?
Dennis Fitzgerald, Vic Melbourne, Australia